Sociology (Cultural Analysis) at Goldsmiths, University of London - UCAS

Course options

There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This degree brings together the rich work within critical and cultural theory, continental philosophy, cultural studies, and contemporary feminist and postcolonial scholarship. The MA Sociology (Cultural Analysis) enables you to develop critical and analytical interdisciplinary perspectives on contemporary socio-cultural processes. It offers a sense of the breadth of possible approaches while developing the skills necessary to produce original analyses in a scholarly and inventive manner. You will explore topics like the nature and historical conditions of critique itself, the relations between power and subjectivity, the concept of performativity, cosmopolitics, novel forms of protest, and radical empiricism, among others. These questions cross and connect human and non-human worlds, and involve both aesthetic and historical aspects. Develop your critical understanding of the analysis of contemporary culture You will be introduced to a range of traditions and resources from cultural studies, continental philosophy, postcolonial theory, process philosophy, speculative thought, and critical cultural analysis. Through reading, seminars, and written assignments, you will gain a critical understanding of contemporary cultural processes and central issues in the theory and analysis of contemporary culture. Tailor the degree to your unique interests The MA Cultural Analysis embraces a transdisciplinary approach that allows students to choose options from within the department and across Goldsmiths to sit alongside the core theoretical and methodological modules. This allows you to take your critical cultural approach into areas that most appeal and feel most urgent to you. You will be able to explore areas of contemporary social and cultural life that interest you most. This flexible MA programme allows you to select options from within and beyond Goldsmiths' Department of Sociology. Participate in an interdisciplinary community Students join this MA from around the world, bringing a range of backgrounds, interests, and unique perspectives to discussions. We have welcomed graduates with backgrounds in sociology, politics, and anthropology, as well as the humanities, philosophy, and more creative and artistic pursuits such as dance and architecture. You will become part of the department’s innovative research culture, which includes events organised by the following:

  • Centre for Philosophy and Critical Thought
  • Unit of Play
  • Centre for Invention and Social Process
  • Unit of Global Justice
  • Methods Lab
  • Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy
  • Centre for Feminist Research
  • Political Economy Research Centre
  • Centre for Urban and Community Research
Our engagement with the socio-cultural world will take multiple routes, expanding sociological methods to also include approaches that route themselves through its poetic, spatial, fictional, affective, sonic, or visual dimensions as much as through its textual. Previous students have explored: the sounds of Kigali street sellers; the memories of violent events in Bogotá; theories of gender fluidity; philosophies of immanence and biopolitics; and archives of radical rock music in the UK. By studying this masters, you'll be joining our world-leading Department of Sociology. We've been rated top 10 in the UK for sociology in the QS World University Rankings 2023.

Modules

Compulsory modules You'll take the following compulsory modules. This includes a 60-credit dissertation on a relevant topic of your choice, where you will be provided with supervision from expert academics in the Department of Sociology. What is Culture - Key Theoretical Interventions 30 credits Methodology Now 30 credits Dissertation 60 credits Optional modules You'll also take 60 credits of optional modules. 30 credits of optional modules must be from a list provided annually by the Department of Sociology. The remaining 30 credits can either be taken from within the Department, or from a relevant department across the Goldsmiths. Optional modules vary from year to year, and recent examples have included: Rethinking the City 30 credits Politics and Difference 30 credits Social Research for Public Engagement 30 credits Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) and Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) awards are also available in this programme. For the award of Postgraduate Diploma, you would need to successfully complete the core module and option modules to the value of 120 CATS; for the Postgraduate Certificate you would need to successfully complete the core module and option modules to the value of 60 CATS. Please note that these are exit awards; if you successfully complete the whole programme you'll be awarded an MA. Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

Assessment method

Assessment consists of coursework, extended essays, reports, presentations, practice-based projects or essays/logs, group projects, reflective essays, and seen and unseen written examinations.


Entry requirements

You should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant/related subject. You might also be considered if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level. 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.
Sociology (Cultural Analysis) at Goldsmiths, University of London - UCAS