University of Sussex - MA Media Practice for Development and Social Change

Jointly taught between the School of Media, Film and Music and the School of Global Studies, this Masters brings together the practical side of media production (multimedia, documentary, photography, radio and web-based media) with media theory, focusing on international development and social change.  The course focuses on media as tools for global social and political change with a strong emphasis on the role of civil society and (alternative) media organisations. Social media, citizen journalism, activist media, participatory media and specialised broadcast media are successfully used to inform and engage audiences outside established channels of communication for issues such as: social inequality, human rights, gender issues, and environmental change.

Click here to watch an interview with a postgraduate student about her MA in Media Practice for Development and Social Change.

Core Modules

The Masters offers two core modules which are taken by all students on the course. They offer a solid grounding for chosen subjects and prepare students to explore the topics that interest them most.

• Critical Perspectives on Development, Media and Social Change - This module explores the intersections of development, media and social change. It begins with an overview of contemporary development challenges, as set against a backdrop of changing trends and understandings of development. It goes on to explore the ways in which media has been used as a tool to bring about social, political and economic change, examining different approaches to and understandings of change - from a conception of development as planned intervention carried out by states and development agencies through policies, projects and programmes to development as organised efforts by groups who have been marginalised from the development process through protest, resistance and mobilisation. The module draws on examples from practice to examine and critically assess the contributions that media - documentary film, digital storytelling, photography, radio and internet based media, including blogging and social networking - can make to development and social change.

• Producing Media for Development and Social Change - This core module introduces core practical skills in a range of media (digital documentary, radio, podcasting and web design) within a critical context focusing on development and social change. Integrating practice and theory, the module aims to develop insight and knowledge of independent and locally produced media initiatives that facilitate citizen participation and foster social development. After an introduction which sets out the contemporary media landscape and its relationship to an active public sphere, the module will focus on case studies of a variety of media projects - such as community radio, mobile media, and documentary projects in the developing world. The practical component of this module focuses on executing exercises in a variety of media formats which will integrate the acquired skills and insights. This module will include some master classes by NGO representatives and/or media professionals who will present a variety of case studies.

Optional Modules

Alongside the core modules, students can choose options to broaden their horizons and tailor their course to their interests. Students choose ONE option from Global Studies and ONE option from Media, Film and Music.

Options from Global Studies include:

• Activism for Development and Social Justice
• Knowledge, Power and Resistance
• Poverty, Vulnerability and the Global Economy
• Race, Culture and the Media
• Sexuality and Development: Intimacies, Health and Rights in Global Perspective
• Transnationalism, Diaspora and Migrants' Lives

Options from Media, Film and Music include:

• Activist Media Practice
• Interactive Project Development
• Media Audiences
• New Developments in Digital Media 1a
• Photography: Documentary, Landscape, Politics
• Short Documentary: Research and Production

Core project options include:

• Dissertation (Media Practice, Development and Social Change)
• Dissertation (Media Practice, Development and Social Change) with Placement
• Media Project for Development and Social Change
• Media Project for Development and Social Change with Placement

Note: These are the modules running in the academic year 2017. Modules running in 2018 may be subject to change.

Click here to find more information on the courses (Under Course Details)

This course can be taken over 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time.
Assessment consists of:

• a variety of practical media projects (documentary, podcast, web design, photography, multimedia project)
• critical reflection reports
• presentations
• essays
• the final project (work placement, independent media project or written dissertation).

The final project can be an independent media project shot anywhere in the world, a written dissertation or industry experience (eight weeks with a charity, NGO or media company). Previous experiences have been at institutions such as Oxfam, UNICEF, the United Nations, and WorldGranny.

The following are examples of core reading materials for this course:

• Andrea Cornwall and Deborah Eade (eds) (2011) Deconstructing Development Discourse: Buzzwords and Fuzzwords
• Practical Action Publishing Robert Chambers (2004) Ideas for Development: Reflecting Forwards, IDS Working Paper 238
• de Jong, Wilma, Rothwell, J. and Knudsen, E. (2012) Creative Documentary: Theory and Practice London: Pearson Education - this is a set text on the Producing Media for Development and Social Change core module.

Click here for publications by Ms Wilma De Jong, Co-convenor MA Media Practice for Development and Social Change and Senior Lecturer in Media & Film Studies..

Click here for publications by Dr Anke Schwittay, Co-convenor MA Media Practice for Development and Social Change and Senior Lecturer in Anthropology & International Development and Head of Department of International Development (School of Global Studies).

Ms Wilma De Jong -  Co-Convenor MA Media Practice for Development and Social Change and Senior Lecturer in Media & Film Studies.  Research interests: Archives and media production, Documentary theory and practice, Film-based media (History, Theory & Practice), Interactive and web based documentaries, Media and international development, media and pressure groups. 

Dr Anke Schwittay - Co-Convenor MA Media Practice for Development and Social Change and Senior Lecturer in Anthropology & International Development and Head of Department of International Development (School of Global Studies). Research interests: digital development, financial inclusion, humanitarian design, microfinance tourism, online microfinance, representations of development.

Click here for a full list of academic staff (Under Our Experts).  Publications by these staff members can be found under their individual profiles.