Digital Cultures (MA)

Course Overview

Scholarships are available for this programme.

This is a one-year full-time Master’s programme, with the option to be delivered as a two-year part-time programme if required.

It introduces students to concepts, debates, tools and practices related to the application of digital technologies to both the creative arts and humanities research. It therefore offers students scope for both reflective analysis and advanced digital skills acquisition.

The programme is interdisciplinary and will allow students to follow ‘research-focused’ or ‘practice-focused’ streams, provided through a menu of core and optional modules. The programme offers a combination of themes and skills unique among Irish third-level institutions. For some graduates the programme will provide a stepping stone to a PhD project; for others it will provide a foundational skill-set for employment in the fields of ICT, cultural heritage, and the creative arts.

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Additional Requirements

Course Outline

CORE MODULES

Digital Literature, Arts and Creative Practice
The course will explore the ways in which new technologies have been used in the creation of “born-digital” works of literature and other arts, and the impacts of these developments on ideas of creativity, publishing and creative practice.

Introduction to Digital Humanities
This course will explore a range of topics from the intersection of computing and the humanities, with a particular emphasis on literary studies. Topics and questions to be addressed include: the history of computing in the humanities, and how computers can augment traditional analytic methods in the humanities. Classes will be divided between in-depth discussions of assigned readings and more hands-on exploration and use of pertinent digital tools and platforms.

Culture Society Technology
A postgraduate introduction to issues and problems in the relationships among culture, society and technology. The course will examine the impact of technologies, especially digital technologies, from cultural, political, ethical, legal and other points of view.

Digital Editions, Exhibits, and Curation
This course is an introduction to the theory and practice of digital archiving and digital scholarly editing. Students will gain hands-on experience creating digital editions and archives, and understand the theoretical and practical issues involved in the creation and use of these digital forms. The course will be co-taught with staff from the James Hardiman Library.

Digital Cultures Workshop & Final Project 
Independent research project in digital arts and humanities. Students will design, plan and complete a practically-based digital project or a dissertation in a relevant area, under direction of a member of programme staff. Workshops supporting the research project will be held during Semester Two.

OPTIONS (two to be chosen; menu of options may vary from year to year)

a) Digital Sandbox  (with MA Journalism)

The aim of this module is to introduce students to computer coding applications to produce creative works that can fulfill audience needs and market demand. Students will explore relevant areas of creative practices and the advanced technologies that provide new possibilities to problem-solve, disrupt, generate content as well as a means of promoting and distributing their works.

b) Social Media and Digital Production (with MA Journalism)

The aim of this module is to introduce students to computer coding applications to produce creative works that can fulfill audience needs and market demand. Students will explore relevant areas of creative practices and the advanced technologies that provide new possibilities to problem-solve, disrupt, generate content as well as a means of promoting and distributing their works.

c) E-Literature
This course is an exploration of the theory and practice of electronic (born-digital) literature. The course will examine its major genres, the challenges it poses to traditional literary theory, and the complex issues at stake in this emerging field of creativity.

d) Introduction to GIS (with MA Geography)
This course covers the basic concepts and applications of a geographic information system (GIS). The topics of GIS data concepts, modelling, attribute management, input and analysis are explained. GIS software ArcGIS is selected as the main training software package for computer practicals in this course. Students will get general knowledge of GIS and acquire the basic techniques of GIS software to independently produce professional maps and carry out spatial queries and basic GIS analyses.

e) Digital Play and Practice (with MA Digital Media)
This module introduces students to creative problem solving, creative process and designing strategy for digital media experiences. In the module students will explore techniques for short-form content creation and basic practical skills for the production of a piece of film / content for the Internet. The module will also introduce emerging technologies in digital arts such as Virtual Reality (Film/Animation/Gaming/Experiences), Augmented Reality, Holography, 3D Projection.

f) Data Journalism and Visualisation (with MA Journalism)
In this module students will learn a range of techniques for sourcing, analysing, and representing data-based stories through practice-driven learning.

g) Curation 1 (with MA Creative Arts: Producing and Curation)
This module involves a practical interaction with the university’s collection of archives and art collection and a weekly examination of key case studies from around the world. Where possible, there will be regular visits to key cultural venues within Galway and elsewhere in Ireland. It will include international engagement with arts practitioners from around the world through the use of digital resources.

Further Education

Depending on subjects studied at undergraduate level, graduates of the MA in Digital Cultures will be eligible to apply for PhD in a variety of arts and humanities disciplines, and will also have opportunities for doctoral studies in areas of ICT and practice-based research.

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Course Fees

Fees: EU

Fees: Tuition

Fees: Student levy

Fees: Non EU

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