Media Gender and Social Justice MA

Course description

As hashtag campaigns like #HeForShe indicate, the relationship between social inclusion, access to and participation in public life, and the tools and skills required to address inequalities in our major institutions are tightly tied to media and communication. Increasingly there is a need to not only examine how media represent and contribute to social inequalities, but also actively develop practical media tools for engaging in direct action leading to social change.

On the MA in Media, Gender, and Social Justice you will gain a comprehensive view of the theories, concepts, and approaches related to the use of media and communication for addressing inequalities and engaging in social justice work. This course is unique in the UK in that it provides an interdisciplinary, critical, and practical focus in the area of media, gender and social justice.

This course will provide rigorous and critical study of media, gender, and questions and of social justice issues within contemporary society. In the various modules, you will engage with a variety of international institutions, contexts, locales, and issues with an intersectional approach to gender that encompasses race, ethnicity, disability, class, citizenship and migration, language, and sexuality.

On completing this course, you will have developed a solid theoretical and methodological grounding in understanding the relationship between media and social inequalities as well as the opportunities for challenging these relations. This postgraduate degree provides an excellent basis for you to progress to a wide range of media and communication roles in an array of organisations and groups in the fields of social action, justice and change. You will also have a firm grounding in social sciences writing and research skills, allowing you to progress to further higher education.

Teaching and learning

On this degree, you will be taught through lectures, seminars, and workshops as well as individual sessions with your supervisor.

Careers and employability

This course will equip you with the theoretical, methodological, and practical skills required to work in charitable, community, NGO, grassroots or non-profit organisations seeking expertise in media and communication strategies for enacting social justice-oriented action. You could go on to work in media management, public relations or communication strategy within groups, organisations or teams focused on enacting change in social institutions, drawing on practical knowledge of legal, policy and corporate bodies.

This degree is a good fit for professionals currently working on social justice issues in grassroots, public, private or NGO sectors internationally, or recent graduates aiming to enter social justice fields or corporate social responsibility, or anyone seeking to pursue further higher education in the areas of media studies, gender studies or social justice.