Course summary
The MA Contemporary Art Theory is for those with a special interest in contemporary art, and an aptitude for theoretical work in the subject. Why study MA Contemporary Art Theory at Goldsmiths
- This degree explores a range of theoretical perspectives that shape art and visual culture, and attitudes towards them in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
- You’ll be encouraged to conceptually and creatively explore the ways in which contemporary artistic practice and urgent theoretical and political matters intersect.
- You’ll expand your knowledge of contemporary artistic developments and deepen your understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of academic discourses on visual culture.
- The programme draws on the shifting fields of performance studies, art history, continental philosophy, ecology, feminist theory, queer theory, postcolonial/decolonial studies, and cultural studies in addressing the critical challenges posed by artistic practice, and you’ll be able to focus on an aspect that particularly interests you.
- You’ll take part in an assessed symposium, which provides you with a chance to present your dissertation topic at an early stage in order to define and progress your final project.
Modules
The programme comprises an assessed introductory module, the Core Course (comprising four blocks that thematically vary from year to year and of which students choose two), and four further assessed components: two Special Subjects, the MA Symposium and the MA Dissertation. Students also attend the Visual Cultures Public Programme of lectures and other events. You have the option of auditing another special subject should you wish to do so, subject to availability and in agreement with the module tutor. The taught part of the programme runs from the end of September to the end of March, with additional guest lectures or workshops in May and June. It offers a framework to help you focus and develop your own understanding of contemporary art practice and its wider cultural significance. It is designed to develop your understanding of a range of critical and theoretical approaches that inform the heterogeneous field of visual art production whilst, at the same time, enabling you to identify and prepare the area of independent research you will carry out in your dissertation project. While about ten members of staff from the department directly teach into the taught components of the MA, almost all staff are available for dissertation supervision. Students may opt to take thematically divergent modules or shape their own consistent thematic pathway through the MA. Full-time students attend on two or three days per week (determined by the choice of special subject plus the Public Programme events on Thursdays); part-time students attend on one or two days each week in the first year and second year. Common Compulsory Module 30 credits Special subjects Special subjects are in-depth taught modules that draw on the current research interests of staff. They enable you to focus on an aspect of contemporary art, cultural theory or contemporary thought that particularly interests you. Special subjects currently include: Transforming Critical Practices 30 credits Transcultural Memory 30 credits Spatial Biopolitics 30 Credits The Ocean as Archive 30 credits Conflicts and Negotiations as Spatial Practices 45 credits Ecopoetics 30 credits Performance as Infrastructural Practice 30 credits Curating and Justice: Race, Representation, Reparation 30 credits Independent research From the end of March, you will start independent research on a subject of your own choosing. At the end of the spring term, you will submit your dissertation proposal and be assigned a dissertation tutor who will support your independent dissertation research and writing activities in an advisory capacity. MA Contemporary Art Theory Dissertation 60 credits Two-day MA Symposium (oral presentation on dissertation topic) (30 credits) The MA Symposium provides you with the opportunity, fairly early on in the research/writing process, to present a worked up and focused investigation of your dissertation topic or some aspect of it. Your presentation will be formally assessed. Presenting on your dissertation research at this stage is invaluable for enabling you to define your project and, through verbal feedback and discussion, to progress your thinking. Assessment: one oral presentation in early June (20 minutes, plus 10 minute discussion). Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
Assessment method
Visual Cultures assessment are 100% coursework. Normally this consists of essays, sometimes accompanied by creative projects, group projects, multi-media projects, presentations and symposia.
Entry requirements
You should normally have, or expect to gain, an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in art history, fine art, another studio-based practice, arts administration and related activities, or a humanities discipline other than art history which demonstrates your ability to undertake work at Masters level. You don’t necessarily need a formal academic qualification in art history: we welcome applications from prospective students who do not meet the standard entrance requirements but can demonstrate appropriate knowledge and experience from outside academia in the world of work. If you have little or no formal training in art history or a related humanities discipline, you may need to take a preparatory year of study on the Graduate Diploma in Contemporary Art History. You may also be required to attend an interview. If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
No fee information has been provided for this course
Additional fee information
Unless otherwise stated the annual fee for part-time students is half the full time fee quoted.
Provider information
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
Lewisham
SE14 6NW