Screen Cultures

“Contemporary culture is screen culture, and it has become nearly impossible to separate our relationship with the screen from our sense of what it is to be alive” Stephen Monteiro, The Screen Media Reader (2017:1)

We look at screens, but we also touch them – tapping, tilting and swiping to acquire a diverse range of information. So much of our daily experience is screened, yet we rarely stop to think about the impact and implications of this.

Through the Master´s programme Screen Cultures you will study how screens – and our interaction with them – affect our experience and understanding of the world.

In the spring of 2021, the initial class to study Screen Cultures graduated - read interviews with some of them.

We are not only interested in our ubiquitous smartphone screens, but all kinds of screens, including the cinema, television, and computer screens, and the genres that have developed with them, such as films, series, games and social media. We live screen lives in a screen world. Our aim at Screen Cultures is to understand what our everyday interaction with screens implies for ourselves, the cultures we take part in, and the societies that house these cultures.

As a Screen Cultures Master´s student, you will become screen literate. That means you will develop as a scholar and critic of our screen lives, exploring the psychological, cultural, social, political, technological and economic consequences of living with, in, and through screens. Through in-depth and interdisciplinary studies, we want to challenge and ultimately change the way we view screens – encouraging you, our students, to participate in this endeavour.

Screen Cultures students are immersed in cutting-edge research in all fields central to screen studies, and are given the opportunity to attain a high level of expertise analysing the technological cultures that pervade our professional and private lives.

You will learn from – and collaborate with ­– researchers who specialise in diverse aspects of screen culture. Former students who have been mentored by members of the Screen Cultures staff currently hold distinguished positions within the arts and cultural sector, as well as the information sector.

Screen Cultures is an innovative, interdisciplinary Master of Arts programme that combines insights from several academic fields from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, such as cultural studies, media and communication studies, art history, anthropology, politics and psychology. We offer our students systematic ways of analysing, interpreting and reflecting upon cultures of ‘screenification’.

Throughout the programme you will develop and refine your abilities to respond to screen cultures in positive, creative, socially productive and ethically sustainable ways. We welcome students who wish to exercise and expand their own interests in screens, have a keen critical eye and an acute sense of social responsibility.

The Master’s programme is closely connected with the research initiatives of our core staff and network partners. We combine research and teaching through ‘teaching-driven research’ – that is, research which grows out of course, seminar and project work. Since students are involved in the teaching, they have the possibility to become involved in the research, too.

Our four course units – Screen Histories & Theories, Screen Aesthetics, Screen Technologies, and Screen Politics ­– serve as research hubs, in which teams of scholars teach and develop research directions together with the students. We believe that contributions and insights from dedicated students are valuable for development of both research and higher learning, and the aim of teaching-driven research is to attain lasting outcomes that are beneficial to both.

In keeping with the rapidly changing media environment, the Screen Cultures programme integrates digital tools throughout its teaching practice. We combine university courses – lectures and seminars, and mixed formats – with hands-on workshops and studio visits, and offer opportunities to collaborate with screen content producers and institutions, such as Cinemateket in Oslo.

You will receive training in peer-reviewing academic papers and articles, as well as in presenting, and commenting upon, conference papers. There will also be opportunities to participate in the production of screen simulations. In offering alternative arenas, we seek to broaden our students’ horizons and strengthen collective learning, engaging students and staff as equal members of the academic community.

The programme’s strong connection to current challenges makes it highly relevant for future careers across the cultural, creative and information industries. Screen Cultures addresses the rapid changes in the media landscape and will equip you with theoretical, methodological and practical skills – preparing you not only to fit into a workplace, but to define your workplace.

Screen Cultures is a demanding Master´s programme with high admission standards, limited places, and a concentration on one-on-one supervision. We work to create a differentiated and personalised learning environment, where highly motivated students will have the opportunity to realise their full potential and engage in exciting and innovative research directions.