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Some personal reflections on my MA in Cultural and Critical Studies now my dissertation has been marked and it really feels over.Permalink On Internet Archive
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I'd been looking to get into film criticism for a while but, being of an academic bent, wanted more academic underpinning. I took a few short courses (one Introduction to Film class covering film history at Imperial College London and one on Surrealist cinema at @closeupcentre).Permalink On Internet Archive
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I wanted something more substantial so I was looking at postgraduate degrees in film and film studies at a lot of places. But I also couldn't quite make up my mind if I wanted to look at film or video games or literature or even online / internet culture.On Internet Archive
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I felt like I'd dipped my toe into critical theory with a co-authored book chapter using critical theory in the context of systems librarianship (eprints.rclis.org/32467/) but I really wanted to delve into critical theory as it relates to culture.Permalink On Internet Archive
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So when I came across the MA Cultural and Critical Studies course at Birkbeck, University of London, it felt perfect. A broad remit of culture that would allow me flexibility to study multiple mediums; a focus on critique in the senses of both criticism and critical theory.Permalink On Internet Archive
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A lot of film studies courses had a more practical focus than I was looking for. The cultural studies Masters had a more theoretical focus that's much more my speed.Permalink On Internet Archive
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Plus Birkbeck had the practical advantages of studying part-time in the evenings while working full-time and Birkbeck's campus being literally next door to my workplace. I also already knew staff in the @birkbeck_ETC department due to their pioneering work on open access stuff.Permalink On Internet Archive
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Once I was on the course, I was pleased to find that it felt like a sequel to my undergraduate degree in Philosophy. My knowledge of analytic philosophy and Wittgenstein in particular was useful as the course went into more recent philosophy like OoO and anti-correlationism.Permalink On Internet Archive
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It really felt like a perfect continuation of my studies with the focus on continental philosophy and the Frankfurt School that my BA had been lacking.Permalink On Internet Archive
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Most importantly, it gave me the confidence in my criticism to contact the fantastic team at @TAKEONECinema about film reviewing and, more recently, to work on my video games criticism (stuff in the pipeline).Permalink On Internet Archive
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Conclusions were regularly noted as the weakest part of my essays for the course and this thread is no exception so... 10/10, would study again.Permalink On Internet Archive