History of Design and Material Culture MA

How this course is delivered

Students have a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that keeps everyone safe, connected and involved in university life. Lots of opportunities are provided to interact and engage with lecturers and other students. The balance between online and on-campus learning varies by module, and in response to the external environment.

Course structure

Your MA will be structured around two core modules: Exploring Objects and Mediating Objects (20 credits each). 

Over two semesters, these modules will enable students to understand and use current theoretical frameworks in the interpretation of material worlds and their myriad representations. Collectively seminar working, close reading and wide ranging discussion are the key learning and teaching strategy of these two modules, with the aim of support and developing students’ skills of expression and articulacy.

Alongside your core modules, you will also take a Research Methods module (20 credits) and embark upon your own research towards an 18,000 to 20,000 word dissertation. Supported by one-to-one supervision, students develop their an original piece of writing often based on archival investigations of ethnographic study.

To complete your degree and cater to your specialist interests and learning requirements, you choose three further option modules, one in semester 1 and two that will take place in semester 2.

See option modules tab for a list of options.

Skirt made by Lou Taylor for Cate-May Hann in an inherited African wax print, 2010. Photo: Louise Purbrick.

Syllabus 

You will take six taught modules over your MA studies and one key piece of independent research, a dissertation.

The taught modules include three core modules Exploring Objects, Mediating Objects, Research Methods and three optional modules that enable you to explore specific aspects of the History of Design and Material Culture such as textiles, graphics and exhibition practice, or broaden your studies with modules in history, politics and philosophy.

The centrepiece of your MA studies is your dissertation. You will be supported through tutorials to investigate a subject or perspective of your own within the History of Design and Material Culture, undertaking primary research and making new critical interventions in this interdisciplinary field.

Previous dissertation subjects include:

• Workwear as Fashion and Anti-Fashion
• Representations of the Holocaust: the rejected works of Arnold Daghani
• Photography and Jewellery: Older women and the practices of keeping things
• The Fetishization of Women’s Hair in Victorian Material Culture
• Japanese Gardens in England
• Political Posters and the Children of Mao’s China

Graffiti, Thessaloniki. Photo: Zeina Maasri, 2011.

Option modules

Semester 1 – choose one:

• History of Fashion and Dress: Method, Theory and Interpretation
• Museums and Collections in Context Digital Curating
• Cultural Memory: Concepts, Theories, Methods
• Globalisation and Global Politics
• Aesthetics and Politics
• Philosophical Foundations of Critical Theory
• Causes of War: Theories and Framings

Semester 2 – choose two:

• Global Issues in Graphic Design
• Critical Reflection on Contemporary Exhibitions
• Heritage in a Global Context
• Caring for Collections and their Users Cultural Theory and Politics
• Holocaust Memory
• Philosophical Traditions of Critical Theory
• Forms of Conflict: Domination and Resistance
• Collections Intensive (note this module is taught over one week during the summer behind the scenes in a museum or collection).

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Street graphics, Lebanon. Photo: Zeina Maasri, 2005.

Facilities

This course makes use of the University of Brighton Design Archives, which include the archives of the Design Council, Alison Settle, FHK Henrion and the South of England Film and Video Archive.

Close professional contact with national institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as with local collections and centres of historical interest (such as Brighton’s unique Royal Pavilion and Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, with its internationally famous collection of decorative art from the 1890s onwards), present research opportunities for students registered on the course.

The course is closely linked to our arts and humanities research division through a joint research lecture series, and we have successfully encouraged high achievers to register for the MPhil/PhD programme.

The student environment also includes the thriving postgraduate Design History Society as well as opportunities for conference presentation, professional contact and career development in the field.

The award-winning University of Brighton Design Archives.

Student views

Karen Fraser, History of Design and Material Culture graduate

"I was impressed with the range of opportunities for research and learning that included access to a variety of sources for primary research, such as objects in the Dress History Teaching Collection and photographs and written documents in the University of Brighton Design Archives.

"I enjoyed learning from the course tutors, who are active and inspiring leaders in their areas of academic interest. They facilitated an exceptional range of extracurricular lectures, conference sessions, and reading groups that greatly enhanced my experience on the course. While much of the work was completed individually, the seminars enabled me to share ideas with fellow students and gain different perspectives from engaged and supportive individuals who were at different stages in their careers."

Course fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in the fee, while studying a course in the School of Humanities are listed here.

• For a number of courses you will have the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits. These are optional and are not required to pass your course but under normal circumstances we would expect a budget of approximately £150 per year will cover the costs of particular trips. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken.
• You will have access to computers and necessary software, however many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes and should budget up to £150 per year for printing.
• Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £200 to buy your own copies.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships, as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2021–22.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

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