MA in Visual Sociology

This programme is designed for students who are interested in new ways of exploring and understanding the social world through the use of visual, sensory and other experimental approaches. It allows you to study sociological issues alongside innovative methods.

The MA will enable you to intervene in and represent the social world by developing the ability to undertake empirical research and present it publicly in a variety of media and materials.
You will engage with sociology as an inventive research practice, orientated towards the creative deployment of research methods.

Programme overview

The MA in Visual Sociology provides an introduction to the range of debates in visual and sensory sociology, encouraging you to build on these by using visual and sensory methodological practices to carry out critical social research in your areas of interest, whether this is science and technology, contemporary capitalism, gender and sexual cultures, human rights, globalisation or other aspects of social life.
The programme combines lectures and seminars with practical sessions and workshop-based projects in which you develop a hands-on approach to sociological research, providing a skill base in methods which could be used in public sector contexts, art/media research, design or commercial application.
As well as presenting your ideas through writing, during the course you will have the opportunity to produce a range of different outputs including exhibitions, visual models and film/video. Critical feedback sessions function as a testing ground for individual projects.
Themed projects allow groups of students to further develop a portfolio of research outputs geared to a variety of audiences. The dissertation allows you to undertake a substantive research project geared to your individual interests.
You will have access to the Visual Media Lab, which offers post-production and editing stations, as well as equipment for photography and video. Students can also borrow equipment from College-wide Media Equipment Centre.
The MA is based in the Department of Sociology, the joint top Sociology department in the UK, home of The Methods Lab and at the forefront of research using live methods. It is taught by staff with a wide range of experience in both Sociology and interdisciplinary research, including visual and experimental approaches.

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