Master of Arts in Dramaturgy and Writing for Performance

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

Anthropology and sociology deal with human behaviours in their social context. This degree gives you a comprehensive grounding in these converging subjects, so you'll develop an understanding of their shared traditions and differences in perspective.

Why study BA Anthropology and Sociology at Goldsmiths?

• The degree is divided evenly between anthropology and sociology, so you'll get a solid grounding in both subjects.
• The dynamic nature of the degree means you’ll be able to bring an interdisciplinary angle to any problem, whether that’s arguing your perspective in an essay or coming up with novel solutions in your future career. Our graduates have gone on to work for the UN, World Bank, as well as various NGOs, law companies and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) consultancies.
• In your third year, you’ll be able to choose from a range of option modules, tailoring your learning in a way that suits your interests and aspirations. You might choose to explore topics like gender theory, environmental anthropology, or borders and migration.
• Our academics are responsible for actively shaping disciplines – they are pioneers in their fields, playing key roles in developing awareness of society and culture.

This pioneering Masters offers interdisciplinary perspectives on international performance, and aims to understand performance in relation to the culture to which it contributes.

Why study MA Performance and Culture at Goldsmiths?

• The programme takes in diverse forms of theatre, including multicultural and street theatre, and practices such as:
  • Performance art
  • Dance
  • Ritual
  • Site-specific performance
  • A wide range of hybrid forms
• You will explore performance as a sociocultural process, using analytical principles from sociology, cultural theory, anthropology, history, philosophy, politics and theatre and performance.
• We have numerous links, locally and internationally, with a wide variety of theatres, companies and performers, all of which enhance your research possibilities.
• The programme will provide you with the appropriate categories of thought and methodological procedures for analysing, understanding and explaining performance processes as sociocultural practices: how and why they emerge from specific sociocultural and historical time place and space.

Taught jointly by the Departments of Anthropology and Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies, this MA offers a stimulating synthesis of theory and practice. In short, it is at the heart of what Goldsmiths is all about.

This MA, launched in 2015, is the third of three related pathways. The first, the MA Applied Anthropology and Community and Youth Work, was started in 1992 and is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career in youth and community work and who need a professional qualification.

A second pathway, the MA Applied Anthropology and Community Development, was launched in 2012 as an option for international or home students who do not need an NYA qualification and for those who want to specialise in community development.

This third pathway has been created in response to a growing number of applicants with an arts background and arts interests, and is aimed at students who wish to work in community arts. The three pathways entail different placements but are taught together, providing many opportunities for exchange of ideas and collaboration amongst students.

This is a pathway of the MA Applied Anthropology & Community and Youth Work, aimed both at international applicants who may not need a British National Youth Agency qualification and those who want to become specialists in community development.
This MA is a second pathway to the MA Applied Anthropology and Community and Youth Work. It was launched in 2012 as an option for international or home students who do not need an National Youth Agency qualification and for those who want to specialise in community development. A third pathway, the MA Applied Anthropology and Community Arts started in 2015.

The three pathways entail different placements but are taught together, providing much opportunity for exchange of ideas and collaboration amongst students.

Professionally validated by the National Youth Agency, this programme brings together community development and youth work practice with the research methods and theoretical preoccupations of anthropology.

This MA is the first of its kind in the country, combining academic and professional qualifications. It is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career in youth and community work and who need a professional qualification.

The MA Anthropology, Ecology and Global Justice is an exciting interdisciplinary programme that explores the contemporary crises of global inequality, climate change, and ecological breakdown, and equips you with the tools to respond.

Why study MA Anthropology, Ecology and Global Justice at Goldsmiths?

• Identify and grapple with the structural drivers of global inequality, climate change and ecological breakdown.
• Develop your understanding of these crises in historical perspective, with reference to patterns of colonial power and the formation of the capitalist world-system over 500 years.
• Work with insights from dependency theory; anti-colonial movements; degrowth; ecological economics; and post-development thought.
• Engage with classic texts in critical theory and ecological anthropology, with a focus on thinkers from the global South and Indigenous political ontology.
• Learn about concrete policy alternatives for the 21st century, drawing on the Department of Anthropology’s commitment to building a public anthropology.

Fusing Goldsmiths' academic excellence and professional training from the Horniman Museum, the MA in Anthropology & Museum Practice provides you with a uniquely comprehensive set of skills.

Why study MA Anthropology and Museum Practice at Goldsmiths?

• Whether you're a professional looking to expand your subject expertise in anthropology, or an anthropologist looking to move into the museum sector, the course will provide you with the skills and knowledge you need to make a difference in your career.
• This degree is run in partnership with The Horniman Museum and Gardens. You'll learn from professionals who work with the institution's world-renowned anthropology collection, and gain practical skills in curation and conservation, using material and digital archives, running museum education programmes and engaging diverse audiences.
• You'll analyse museums as sites of imagination and distinction and think about how they can be more inclusive places.
• If you haven’t studied anthropology previously, you’ll have the opportunity to sit in on the Masters-level Introduction to Social Anthropology module, which will give you a solid grounding in the subject - and enable you to hit the ground running.

Develop your ability to contextualise, critique, and create. This MA addresses the historical, political, theoretical and ethical issues of applied theatre, and explores the ways in which theatre and performance are created by diverse groups of people.

Why study the MA Applied Theatre at Goldsmiths?

• The Masters is aimed at early-career practitioners with a background in theatre, education, activism or social change, as well as at more established practitioners who want to reflect, refresh and develop their skills.
• Develop your skills as a collaborative, responsive, imaginative, politically engaged and culturally-aware artist practitioner.
• Explore how theatre is created in schools, on the streets, in children’s homes, care homes, conflict zones, creches, youth clubs, prisons, women’s refuges, and refugee centres – anywhere groups of people meet and interact.
• The degree is structured so that practice and theory constantly respond to one another through practical classes and seminars. You will undertake a placement in a recognised host organisation, where you'll work with experienced practitioners and learn how participatory arts organisations function, from an insider’s perspective.

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.

This MA is tailored for people who want to start a career in the game industry. One of the only programmes in the UK taught by actual game developers, it will teach you game design, art & animation, and game programming, and has a strong focus on entrepreneurship and business.

As a fast-growing 150-billion-dollar business, the game industry offers countless professional opportunities. The MA Computer Games: Art & Design is right for you if you want to make game development a sustainable career and to work in this creative and rewarding industry.

This is also one of the only programmes taught by actual game developers, designers, and artists with years of experience in the game industry.

Why Study MA Computer Games: Art and Design at Goldsmiths

• Learn to design and develop games using state of the art tools and game engines from actual game developer and industry veterans
• Focus on which skills you want to learn, through a selection of option modules you can choose from
• Collaborate with colleagues from other courses, including the MSc Computer Games Programming and the MA Independent Games and Playable Experience Design
• Build your portfolio through practical coursework
• Access state of the art game labs and facilities
• Get your first internship in the game industry (or work on a research project instead)
• Take part in the many events and game jams we organise every year, and be part of the creative and diverse environment that surrounds Goldsmiths
• Access the strong UK community of publishers and creators with innovative voices creating ground-breaking titles