Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in History with Public History

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

There is a growth in the number of entrepreneurs starting businesses with social and environmental purposes. This exciting MA will enable you to develop a critical understanding of and practical insights into modes of social enterprise.

There is an urgent need for talented individuals who can design novel solutions to our most profound societal challenges.

This international MA provides practical and sociological tools to individuals motivated to develop alternative economic practices and frameworks to meet such challenges. These might include (but are not limited to) social enterprises, collaborative innovation networks, hubs, digital platforms, support intermediaries and/or policy proposals.

Benefitting from the MA’s timely educational content as well as from its firm roots in London’s rich networks, our students go on to become thought leaders in the burgeoning social innovation field, advancing it in a creative fashion from their chosen angle. Past graduates have gone on to create their own social enterprises or to work for prestigious organisations such as the Yunus Institute and Social Enterprise UK, while some have elected to carry out advanced research into social innovation.

The MA Queer History is a pioneering programme in one of the most exciting areas of historical enquiry, giving a voice to those who throughout much of history have been denied one.

Why study MA Queer History at Goldsmiths?

• This is the world’s first MA in Queer History and it provides a comprehensive introduction to the themes and methods of Queer History as well as laying a solid foundation in general historical study.
• Our emphasis is in the Early Modern and Modern periods: both the Western invention of ‘homosexuality’ in the 1860s and the emancipatory movements, especially of the post-1969, post-Stonewall period, figure prominently.
• You’ll gain a first-rate overview of important thought and methods from the fields of queer theory as well as the histories of gender and the body and sexuality.
• We aim to historicise often binary categories, such as male/female, heterosexuality/homosexuality, active/passive, and uncover the processes through which these categories came to be seen as ‘natural’.
• You’ll also pay close attention to questions of power, including how sexual orientation and race throughout history have often become interlinked in asymmetrical, oppressive ways.
• You’ll be able to choose from a range of option modules so you can tailor your learning to your own interests and get the most out of your year at Goldsmiths.

If you want to understand the impact of the Arab Spring or the ideology of ISIS, how US foreign policy is shaped by domestic politics, how international trade affects various parts of the world, how different cultures shape political decision making, or how international NGOs operate, this is the degree for you.

Why study BA International Relations at Goldsmiths?

• Our International Relations degree allows you to investigate the dynamics of a constantly changing world and develop the knowledge and skills to address the global challenges of the 21st century.
• You'll study the theory of international relations, global governance, international political economy, foreign policy and diplomacy, complemented by specialist area-focused modules on the Middle East, Africa, China and East Asia.
• You can also enhance your knowledge in your personal areas of interest, with option modules as diverse as security, development and human rights, foreign policy, conflict, and genocide.
• We’ll encourage you to put your knowledge into practice with our work placement module. Work with organisations in the international relations sector, such as policy think-tanks, development agencies and NGOs and get real experience before you graduate.
• Take your international knowledge further and spend part of your degree studying abroad with Erasmus+. You’ll immerse yourself in another culture, learn to see things from a new perspective and increase your employability.
• Studying an international relations degree in London means that Westminster, global business and diverse diasporas are all in easy reach.
• When you join Goldsmiths you’ll become part of a global academic family, with students from 140 countries and alumni around the globe.

This MA examines contemporary issues concerning justice. You will learn how to conceptualise and study the possibilities of human rights, going beyond legal formulations to look at the conditions in which human rights claims are made.

Human rights mobilise millions of supporters across borders, inspiring passion and hope. And they operate at and between all the scales involved in globalisation: local, national, international, transnational. They are moral claims to justice. Although often associated with law, human rights are not the same as legal rights – human rights can be claimed where no legal rights are codified, even if changes in the law are invariably called for as part of attempts to realise human rights in practice.

Human rights are carried by different actors:

• Grassroots social movements, small Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and huge International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs)
• Lawyers and judges
• Bureaucrats and experts in Inter-Governmental Organisations (IGOs) even, sometimes, national politicians
• Journalists, novelists, translators, artists, filmmakers

These different actors are often at odds with each other in defining and defending particular justifications of what human rights are and should be.

In this Masters you will learn about how human rights are constructed, exploring framings of human rights through case studies; and you will begin to practice some of the methodologies and methods that are currently used in NGOs and grassroots activist networks trying to remedy global injustices.

The MA Social Work is an academic and professional qualification which also provides a gateway to more specialist therapeutic qualifications and research degree programmes. Social work education at Goldsmiths has a long and distinguished record – we have one of the most respected social work units in the UK, and you'll be taught by established social work academics and associate lecturers who have considerable research and/or practice experience in their fields.

You will learn the values, skills, and knowledge needed to practise as a reflective and ethical social worker, and be well equipped for the challenges of contemporary social work practice. You also will be encouraged to make links between anti-oppressive practice, the social work values, the legal framework, theories, methods and skills of intervention, and social work practice throughout the programme. You will cover some of the following areas:

• Human growth and development
• Community needs and services
• Social work methods and skills
• Assessment in social work
• Law and organisational contexts of social work
• Research methods
• Children and families pathway
• Adults pathway
• Mental health and disability

This MA will enhance your narrative skills as an editor of fiction for film and television. This Masters is a pathway of MA Filmmaking, so that in addition to your specialised training you will collaborate with students across all specialisms on a variety of film projects.

Experienced tutors and guests provide expert guidance designed to enhance the flow of your individual research, experimentation and artistic achievement. You will complete your degree by working in your specialist role on a major production in the final term.

What we offer

• The programme is housed in a new purpose-built media facility equipped with state-of-the art teaching spaces including a film studio equipped with Arri lighting and Green Screen facilities. Edit suites are equipped with Avid Media Composer and tuition is offered, giving the opportunity to gain Avid Certified User accreditation (Media Composer 101 and 110). Edit suites, screening rooms and sound studios are linked via Avid’s industry standard ISIS storage area network.
• You will work to professional standards using high-end digital formats. You will also learn sophisticated postproduction workflow techniques, gaining a wealth of experience in off-line editing and an understanding of how this fits in with on-line editing, visual effects and picture grading.
• In addition to your specialist area, you can attend classes in related disciplines. This framework is designed to stimulate collaborative practice by providing you with a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise in your chosen filmmaking discipline.

This MA is designed for students interested in new ways of exploring and understanding the social world through the use of visual, sensory, and other experimental approaches. You’ll study sociological issues alongside innovative methods and gain the tools needed to examine, represent and intervene in the social world.

Why study MA Sociology (Visual Sociology) at Goldsmiths?

• You’ll join students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including art, design, anthropology, media and communications, cultural studies, geography, and sociology.
• You’ll develop the ability to carry out empirical research and present it publicly in a variety of media and materials. You’ll engage with sociology as an inventive research practice, using creative research methods to address classic and changing sociological problems.
• You’ll be introduced to the range of debates in visual research and encouraged to build on these by using visual, sensory and inventive 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, race, human rights, globalisation, or other aspects of social life.
• Combining lectures and seminars with practical sessions and workshop-based projects, this MA will help you develop a hands-on approach to sociological research. You’ll gain a skills base in methods which could be used in public sector contexts, art or media research, design or commercial application.
• As well as presenting your ideas through writing, you’ll have the opportunity to produce different outputs, including film/video, photography, sound and multimedia pieces. You’ll also have the opportunity to organise and curate some of this work in an exhibition.

The MSc Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) aims to provide students with a structured training where students can systematically acquire the knowledge and skills needed to practice as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist.

On the course, students will be able to progressively build their confidence and competence to take them from a novice to skilled practitioner equipped to work towards accreditation with the BABCP and BACP dependant on their individual experience.

Uniquely on this course, students will be strongly encouraged to evaluate Cognitive Behavioural theory and practice, which will include an emphasis on understanding the relationship of CBT to other psychotherapeutic modalities and on the tailoring of interventions to individual needs. As such this training in CBT is presented within a broader framework of critical and positive psychology.

The course also aims to develop students' understanding of the impact of contextual and structural factors, particularly in terms of the impact of inherent power differentials, upon the formation and resolution of individual psychological difficulties. This also includes the influence of contextual factors upon the practice of CBT itself and the examination of the way in which CBT can contribute to the prevention and amelioration of the negative impact of these. As such particular focus is given to developing a flexible and creative approach to the practice of CBT to effectively respond to individual, social and cultural diversity. In addition the course seeks to broaden the focus of understanding away from only addressing psychopathology to a broader view of the practice of CBT that includes the optimisation of individual well-being.

If you are passionate about pursuing a career as a cinematographer in an environment that promotes innovative filmmaking, this programme is for you. With its unique blend of hands-on workshops, studio and location filming exercises, and high production value collaborative film projects, the MA Filmmaking (Cinematography) elevates your skills as a moving-image storyteller to the level of Director of Photography.

What we offer

• The MA Filmmaking (Cinematography) is a pathway of the Goldsmiths MA Filmmaking. It is housed in a new purpose-built media facility with state-of-the-art teaching spaces including film and photography studios equipped with Arri cameras and lighting.
• You'll learn sophisticated camera, lighting and gripping techniques, and will perform all camera department roles from Director of Photography to Camera Operator, Focus-puller, Gaffer, Camera Assistant, Spark and Grip. You’ll work on a number of exercises and films per term in your specialist role, culminating in a major film production towards the end of the degree. Throughout the degree, you’ll also gain parallel experience in related cine roles by crewing for your fellow cinematographer classmates.
• In addition to developing professional-level skills in your specialist craft area, you’ll attend classes in related disciplines such as Directing and Editing and advance your collaborative skills by working with students across all specialisations, including writers, producers and sound designers. The horizontal framework is designed to stimulate collaborative practice by introducing you to a breadth of filmmaking knowledge combined with a high level of expertise as an accomplished cinematographer.

History is a relevant, dynamic, fascinating, and important field of study which, at Goldsmiths, is approached in creative, innovative, and exciting ways.

History - the study, analysis and understanding of the past - is as important today as it has ever been and it continues to make vital contributions to how we comprehend and interact with the world around us.

Understanding past societies fosters emotional intelligence and allows us to appreciate the diversity and adaptability of human life. Understanding our pasts can help us to shape our futures and, crucially, help us shape those futures intelligently, insightfully, fairly, and with compassion. History is here and now as well as being there and then.

Students studying History at Goldsmiths have a great deal of choice over what to study, beginning with options in Year One. Our geographic scope covers Europe (including significant British expertise), the Americas, Asia and Africa. Chronologically, we have a strong focus on early modern and modern history, while also covering earlier periods.

Why study BA History at Goldsmiths?

• We are exciting and challenging: our innovative interdisciplinary approaches to the subject encourage our students to approach and explore the past thematically rather than chronologically and we venture into issues, areas and topics that are often overlooked.
• We are global: our international body of staff research and deliver modules covering a wide geographical range including Asia, Africa, the Americas, the British Isles, Eastern and Western Europe, and the Middle East.
• We excel in what we do: our academic staff are nationally and internationally recognised award-winning experts in their fields, they are at the forefront of research excellence and research-led teaching.
• We put you first: our students are always our top priority and our staff are excellent educators who foster independent and progressive thinking in challenging but supportive environments.
• We broaden minds: history stimulates critical and analytical thinking and, at Goldsmiths, we also encourage creative and imaginative thinking that takes our students beyond the traditional boundaries of the subject.
• We think about your future: alongside intellectual and personal development we equip our students with the skills and experience they need to progress into a rewarding career. This might be through our History in Practice work-placement module or through other career-orientated opportunities and forms of assessment.