The Cultural Cold War in Europe, 1917-1989 (HIST0083)

The Cold War in Europe was fought not on the battlefield but in the cultural domain. In this war of ideas and culture, intellectuals – artists, writers, philosophers, filmmakers, musicians etc. – were on the front line. This module will examine how and why this came to be. To answer this question it is necessary to reject the conventional post-war timeframe through which the Cold War is usually analysed. Instead we will begin by exploring how Soviet Russia sought to influence western public opinion by exporting communist culture and mobilising western intellectuals behind Soviet interests during the 1920s and 1930s. This interwar Soviet cultural offensive provided the model upon which much of America’s Cold War cultural diplomacy was based. After the war, disillusionment with Stalinism drew some former intellectual supporters of the USSR into a cultural crusade against communism that was covertly funded by the CIA. Others, like Picasso, were drawn closer to communism following the Soviet Union’s role in the defeat of Nazism. As allied victory turned into Cold War rivalry, art, music, film and literature were mobilised in a battle for the hearts and minds of Europeans on either side of the iron curtain. Using a wide range of sources, we will study the origins and development of this struggle and debate some of the ethical issues that it raises about the relationship between culture and power.

The Placement draws on both critical and creative strands of the BA Media degree, building upon the knowledge gained taking the Digital Economy and...

Work Placement -  Media in the Real World II (CCME0156)

The Placement draws on both critical and creative strands of the BA Media degree, building upon the knowledge gained taking the Digital Economy and Professional Practice and Making the Media modules in Year 2. The aim is to prepare students for the world of work. Students will work with local companies, institutions and communities, expanding skills in creative entrepreneurship, Education, GLAM and community engagement. It is an opportunity for students to begin to use their critical and creative skills to bear on real world problems. It is a tenet of this programme to connect academics and students to industry and surrounding community and this module is a key component of that aim.

PATHWAY 1: Critical Media with Film – an emphasis on theory, but with a throughline of practical work in film-making running through Years 2 and 3. This pathway will follow the theory modules and all the practice modules in film up to advanced level.

PATHWAY 2: Critical Media with Games – an emphasis on theory, but with a throughline of practical work in game, VR/AR/XR design running through Years 2 and 3. This pathway will follow the theory modules and all the practice modules in games and interactive media up to advanced level.

PATHWAY 3: Media Practice – an emphasis on design in both Film and Games/VR/AR/XR, with options in critical theory to complement this. This pathway will follow all the practice modules in both film and games up to advanced level, along with selected theory modules.