Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts,

and Media (M.A.)

Major in Culture, Arts, and Media

Overview

MA Colloquium Master’s Thesis

Sem. 4
5 ECTS credits 25 ECTS credits

In-depth Study Area

Optional Mandatory Module* Optional Mandatory Module* Arts and Visual Culture/
Complementary Studies:
Sem. 3 Integrated Analysis of Culture Integrated Analysis of Culture Media Culture and Communication
Ethics of Science
5 ECTS credits 5 ECTS credits 10 ECTS credits
Research Project
on Culture, Arts, and Media -
Cultural Studies
In-depth Study Area In-depth Study Area
10 ECTS credits
Optional Mandatory Module* Optional Mandatory Module* Arts and Visual Culture Arts and Visual Culture
Complementary Studies:
Sem. 2 Integrated Analysis of Culture Integrated Analysis of Culture Media Culture and Media Culture and
Transdisciplinary Methods
5 ECTS credits 5 ECTS credits Communication** Communication**
5 ECTS credits 5 ECTS credits

In-depth Study Area In-depth Study Area

Current Discourse Basic Module Arts and Visual Culture/ Arts and Visual Culture/ Complementary Studies:
Sem. 1 in Cultural Studies Cultural Theory and Cultural History Media Culture and Media Culture and Theory of Science
5 ECTS credits 10 ECTS credits Communication Communication 5 ECTS credits
5 ECTS credits 5 ECTS credits

* Option to choose 4 out of 10 modules

** Option to choose 2 out of 4 modules

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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)

Structure and Contents In the Major in Culture, Arts, and Media, students might be required to do the
following additional work:
The Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (105 ECTS credits) is offered within the Arts &
Sciences master’s programme. It comprises the following areas: Research Paper: The research paper must show the student’s ability to work
independently in a theoretical or non-theoretical field and to give a written summary
Integrated Analysis of Culture (30 ECTS credits) of the theoretical and methodological basis for his/her research and the research
The compulsory basic module called "Cultural Theory and Cultural History" introduces findings in a scholarly manner, taking into account relevant research literature.
students to major perspectives in cultural studies research. Additional problem-
focused optional mandatory modules cover fundamental topics in the field of
contemporary cultural studies. This allows students to choose their own focus. To
successfully complete the study programme, students must take four optional
mandatory modules.
In-depth Study Area (30 ECTS credits)
Students choose one of the two in-depth areas of study: “Arts and Visual Culture” or
“Media Culture and Communication”. These in-depth areas of study are intended to
supplement and focus on the issues of cultural studies by dealing with subject-
specific theories and research problems in the field of “Arts and Visual Culture” and
“Media Culture and Communication”.
Master’s Forum/Research Perspectives/Master’s Thesis (45 ECTS credits)
Issues and forms of discourse that are of current relevance in the field of cultural
studies are the subject matter of the compulsory Master’s Forum. In addition,
students will be prepared to meet the practical, theoretical, and methodological
requirements of cultural studies research (conception, planning, realisation, and
communication of their own research work) and will be supervised and assisted in
writing their master's thesis.
The modules offered in the Master’s Forum/Research Perspectives area are marked.
This does not apply to the Master’s Colloquium module.
The preparation of the master’s thesis is allotted five months. The master’s thesis
consists of a colloquium in which the candidate must present the findings of his/her
master’s thesis before he/she will be questioned by the examiners in the respective
field. The mark awarded to the colloquium work accounts for a fifth of the final mark
awarded to the master’s thesis.

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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)

Module Descriptions
Semester 1
Number and type of
ECTS
Module Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Introduction to the two basic perspectives of cultural
studies research.
The “Cultural Theory” part of the module focuses
particularly on cultural philosophy and cultural sociology
Cultural Theory and Cultural History
as the basis for theory formation in cultural studies Total hours of
2 lectures (each 2)
(1 lecture on cultural theory plus 1 in-depth seminar). The 1 written test (120 min) 10 attendance/self-study:
Integrated Analysis of Culture 2 seminars (each 1)
“Cultural History” part of the module is centred on the 84/216
(Mandatory Module)
methodological and theoretical foundations of cultural
history analysis and introduces major areas of
specialisation in cultural history (1 lecture plus 1 in-
depth seminar on history, literature, or musicology).
Introduction to and in-depth study of issues of art history
as well as influential positions in the field of aesthetics
and the philosophy of art.
In the “Art History” part of the module, students will
History and Theories of Arts and elaborate on key issues illustrated through examples in a
Visual Culture seminar on the history of arts and visual culture.
Total hours of
In the theoretical part, students will deepen their
2 seminars (each 2) 1 term paper 10 attendance/self-study:
In-depth Study Area: understanding of the sensual properties of human beings
56/244
Arts and Visual Culture and their perceptive capacities within the meaning of
(Mandatory Module) “aesthesis” in a seminar on aesthetics and the
philosophy of arts, and on the theory of visual culture. The
visual dimension will be discussed in terms of the ways in
which it constructs culture; the focus will be on the arts
and the more complex field of visual culture.

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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 1
Module
Mediatised Communication and
Everyday Media Life
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communication
(Mandatory Module)
Media Cultures and Change
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communication
(Mandatory Module)
Current Discourse in Cultural
Studies
Master’s Forum and
Research Perspectives
(Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Introduction to and in-depth study of the fundamentals of
media action in the sense of communicative action.
The module focuses particularly on the analysis of the
1 seminar (2) 1 term paper Total hours of
everyday context of mediatised communication, i.e. the
or or 5 attendance/self-study:
continued social, spatial, and temporal penetration of life
1 lecture (2) 1 essay 28/122
through forms of media communication and the
discussion of the impact of this process on culture and
society.
Introduction to the fundamentals of media cultural history
and reflection on relevant problem areas.
The module provides a systematic overview of the various
ways of approaching media history. It focuses on 1 seminar (2) 1 term paper Total hours of
examples of historical and current approaches in media or or 5 attendance/self-study:
and cultural history, different methods used to access 1 lecture (2) 1 written test (90 min) 28/122
media historiography, and selected theoretical concepts
and problem areas (e.g. intermediality, media transfer,
popular culture, media publicity).
Reconstruction and analysis of debates that currently
define cultural studies research.
In this module students will address sample approaches
to current key questions in cultural studies. At the same
time, they will reflect on central theoretical,
methodological, and historical reference points in cultural 1 presentation Total hours of
studies. 1 seminar (2) or 5 attendance/self-study:
The module is centred on the (re)contextualisation of 1 term paper 28/122
contemporary debates and concepts against the
background of history, the main paradigms and the
relevant turns in cultural studies. During the last three
sessions, the seminar of this module will be combined to
form a Cultural Studies Forum.
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 2
Module
Art and Social Theory
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Media Culture and Aesthetics
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Culture and Urban Space
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Development of and critical reflection on approaches to
social theory that are particularly relevant to
contemporary art discourse.
1 lecture (1)
This module discusses and reflects on the forms, 1 term paper Total hours of
or
reasons, and limits of applying the theories of the social or 5 attendance/self-study:
1 seminar (1)
and human sciences to the field of art. Examples of 1 written test (90 min) 28/122
1 seminar (1)
relevant social theorists include: Th. W. Adorno, Michel
Foucault, Jean Baudrillard, Stuart Hall, Pierre Bourdieu,
Chantal Mouffe, or Bruno Latour.
Introduction to and in-depth study of the history and
theory of aesthetic praxis from a historical perspective.
Total hours of
The module provides an insight into the history of
1 seminar (2) 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
aesthetic theory and praxis. At the same time, different
28/122
ways of integrating aesthetics into media culture will be
illustrated.
Students will be taught basic concepts and fundamental
problems of as well as trends and tendencies in urban
development, architectural concepts for urban areas, and
the impact of cultural conditions on urban structures and
urban development. 1 seminar (2)
1 term paper Total hours of
The module provides an analysis of urban space from a or
or 5 attendance/self-study:
sociological, aesthetic, and intercultural point of view. 1 lecture (2), when
1 practical achievement 28/122
Key topics include: urban space and its cultural indicated with excursion
connotations, urban cultural networks, cultural and
urban development and its relevance to the cultural
sector, the establishment of so-called “creative cities”,
and the process of gentrification.
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 2
Module
Diagnoses of Historical Time
Periods and Historical Viewpoints
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Intercultural and Transcultural
Studies
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
This module offers an in-depth look at the historicity of
contemporary society by comparing diagnoses of
historical time periods and historical viewpoints from
different epochs. In addition, the module provides an
analysis of basic features of the culture of remembrance
and its communication.
Illustrating through examples of diagnoses of historical 1 seminar (2) Total hours of
time periods and examples of historical viewpoints and or 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
places of remembrance, the module focuses on the 1 lecture (2) 28/122
question of how issues of identity correlate with the
negotiation of processes of remembrance in society, of
how these materialise in different social, cultural, and
political contexts, and of how social and cultural
processes of transformation correspond to related
competing interpretations.
Reflection on and analysis of the origin and history of
global culture, the consequences of this development and
the related forms of discourse.
The module provides an in-depth study of the concepts,
problems, and theories of intercultural and transcultural 1 term paper
studies (e.g. postcolonial studies, theories of foreign and or Total hours of
1 seminar (2), when
intercultural understanding, critical whiteness studies, 2 essays 5 attendance/self-study:
indicated with excursion
translation studies, imageology) from a disciplinary or 28/122
perspective (including the disciplines of literature 1 research report
studies, philosophy, ethnology, musicology, sociology) and
an interdisciplinary perspective. Sample analyses from
different fields focus on current international debates in
research and society.
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 2
Module
Museums, Collections, Archives
In-depth Study Area:
Arts and Visual Culture
(Mandatory Module)
Art and Society
In-depth Study Area:
Arts and Visual Culture
(Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
This module deals with the major paradigms of
transdisciplinary museum sciences (art history, cultural
sociology, sociology of art, and cultural history).
The module provides students with knowledge of the
internal processes of collecting, preserving, and 1 seminar (2) Total hours of
exhibiting; and of the external social role and function of or 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
museums in society. Museums, locations of exhibitions, 2 seminars (each 1) 28/122
and collections will be described theoretically from an
historical and contemporary perspective, analysed by
curators and recipients, and situated in the international
context of museums.
Based on the relevant theories (e.g. field theory, agent-
network theory, production of culture approach), students
will analyse the conventions and mechanisms of art
production, valorisation, distribution, and reception. In
addition, students will analyse the impact of the social 1 seminar (2) Total hours of
context on the artistic praxis, the artistic work, and the or 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
selection, perception and acquisition of art as well as the 2 seminars (each 1) 28/122
significance of support economy, attention economy, and
charisma in the field of art. Furthermore, students will
discuss attempts to explain symbolic revolutions and
radical innovations in this area.
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 2
Module
Cultural Media Studies
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communication
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Media and Globalisation
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communication
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Analysis of and theoretical reflection on (media) culture
as a field of negotiating social change and social
conflicts.
The module focuses on the approach of (British) cultural
media studies, their theories, and their research concepts
and findings: e.g. the relationship between culture, 1 essay Total hours of
media, and power; the encoding/decoding model; 1 seminar (2) or 5 attendance/self-study:
concepts of identity; the concept of discourse; concepts of 1 term paper 28/122
popular culture and polysemy; concepts of contextualised
reception research and ethnography; or the relationship
between economy and consumption and their merger into
the convergence culture; the phenomenon of locality and
translocality in media communication.
This module provides an in-depth look at theories of and
approaches to the globalisation of media communication,
in particular the transcultural and international
comparative media and communication research.
Total hours of
Students will elaborate basic theories and findings
1 seminar (2) 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
concerning the relationship between media globalisation,
28/122
media economics, and media culture with special regard
to the producer side. They will acquire fundamental
knowledge of the functional relationship between trans-
cultural and transnational media communication.
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 2
Module
Media Society
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communications
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Gender & Queer Media Studies
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communication
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Research Project Seminar
Master’s Forum and Research
Perspectives
(Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Reconstruction of the sociological analysis of the media
age and of the relationship between mediatisation and
other fundamental social transformations.
This module examines sociological and cultural studies
theories that attach great importance to the formation of
Total hours of
the information society (communication/knowledge
1 seminar (2) 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
society), changes in public spheres, and the relevance of
28/122
new media. It also addresses the relationship between
the processes of mediatisation and phenomena which are
the focus of other sociological theories of social change
(e.g. flexibilisation of work, individualisation of life,
private-to-public transformation).
Analysis of current forms of media discourse, practices,
and receptive processes in the area of gender and
sexuality, in the context of the theoretical foundations of
gender and queer media studies.
This module focuses on the discussion of gender and 1 essay Total hours of
sexuality as socially construed categories and on their 1 seminar (2) or 5 attendance/self-study:
discursive behaviour in the media (positioning of subject; 1 term paper 28/122
construction of gender and sexuality in media discourse
and practices; connection between the processes of
reception, positioning of gender and sexuality, and socio-
cultural contexts of reception).
The Research Project
Realisation of an initial comprehensive research project seminar is designed to
that is particularly aimed at strengthening students’ be completed in two
theoretical and methodological knowledge and project- semesters (Sem. 2 and
1 project work
related competencies. This module will include an 1 seminar (3) Sem. 3).
or 10
intensive investigation into various methodological and 1 seminar (1) Class attendance
1 research report
theoretical approaches (methodological workshop) which during Sem. 2 only.
will be applied and tested with an eye to students’ Total hours of
projects in research praxis. attendance/self-study:
56/244
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 3
Module
Philosophy of Cultural Studies
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Arts and Digital Media
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Politics, Law, Culture
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
This module provides an in-depth look at the
philosophical foundations and presuppositions of cultural
studies issues and problems. It focuses on those theories
Total hours of
that - against the background of cultural studies and
1 seminar (2) 1 term paper 5 Attendance/self-study:
based on the Cultural Theory and Cultural History module
28/122
- have the effect of expanding and deepening students'
knowledge of cultural sciences theories and their
philosophical background.
In-depth analysis of the correlation between artistic
praxis and its media-specific constitution as well as of
the associated (media-generated) aesthetic discourse.
1 oral presentation Total hours of
The module is centred on the aesthetic strategies of 1 seminar (2), when
or 5 attendance/self-study:
electronic and digital media, the historical perspectives indicated with excursion
1 term paper 28/122
on media change, artistic praxis and aesthetics, and,
finally, the discourse in contemporary aesthetic design in
the context of the media.
This module provides students with a deep
understanding of the political and legal framework for
cultures, i.e. more specifically, for fields of cultural
production (art, literature, media, etc.) and, more
generally, for typical ways of living, values, and forms of
1 seminar (2) 1 term paper Total hours of
praxis adopted by individuals, groups, and more complex
or or 5 attendance/self-study:
structures (e.g. civilisations).
1 lecture (2) 1 written test (90 min) 28/122
Students will acquire basic knowledge of research in
political culture, culturally relevant aspects of public law,
and theoretical approaches and key concepts used in
these areas as they relate to cultural theories and cultural
studies issues.
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 3
Module
Literature, Text, Reading
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Independent Studies
Integrated Analysis of Culture
(Optional Mandatory Module)
Types and Forms of Knowledge
and Praxis
in the Field of Art
In-depth Study Area:
Arts and Visual Culture
(Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Discussion of the basic function and extraordinary
significance of writing and the text in cultural studies.
The module focuses on theories of the analysis and
reading of texts, which will generally be tested and
discussed in relation to particular pieces of literature. In Total hours of
particular, the module reflects on the transdisciplinary 1 seminar (2) 1 term paper 5 attendance/self-study:
apparatus that is used in cultural studies, made 28/122
available by an extended concept of text as applied in,
among other theoretical traditions, those of
hermeneutics, structuralism, post-structuralism, or
semiotics.
Students will elaborate on a topic they have chosen
themselves and which they will develop and pursue in 1 term paper Total hours of
close collaboration with a tutor. At the beginning of the 1 colloquium (2) or 5 attendance/self-study:
semester, the student and his/her tutor decide jointly on 1 research report 0/150
the programme for the semester.
Acquisition of specific skills in decision-making and
responsibility that enable students to do scholarly work
not only in the field of contemporary art, but also in
related cultural fields (e.g. media, culture, creative arts).
In this module students will identify the particular
features of forms of knowledge and praxis in the arts and 1 presentation Total hours of
2 seminars (each 2), when
will provide a picture of current forms of discourse and and 10 attendance/self-study:
indicated with excursion
praxis in the field of art by bringing theory and praxis 1 project work 56/244
together (collaboration with/exchange of visitors to art
projects presented at Leuphana University, the artists’
support programme of the German Federal State of Lower
Saxony at Leuphana, and the Innovation Incubator as well
as excursions into the field of art).
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)
Semester 3
Module
Conflict Constellations in Media
Cultures
In-depth Study Area:
Media Culture and Communication
(Mandatory Module)
Number and type of
ECTS
Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Students will be qualified to provide a critical analysis of
conflicting areas within media cultures.
Examples of conflicts resulting from transformational
processes in the media, communications, and society will
be discussed from a historical or present-day perspective.
This will be illustrated through conflict constellations in
1 presentation Total hours of
society (e.g. armed conflicts, social negotiation
1 seminar (3) and 10 attendance/self-study:
processes, and social inequality) and their rendering into
1 project work 42/258
discourse in the media, or will be based on media
upheavals and the related changes in mediatised
communicative practices and their (problematic)
consequences for society, culture, and everyday life (e.g.
digitalisation and participation, reading competence, and
gender inequality).
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Leuphana University of Lüneburg ▪ International Office ▪ ECTS Information Package ▪ Master’s in Arts & Sciences ▪ Major in Culture, Arts, and Media (M.A.)

Semester 4
Number and type of
ECTS
Module Contents courses (hours per week Type of assessment Remarks
credits
per semester)
Presentation of and reflection on master’s thesis projects
and exposés as well as theoretical, methodological, and
Master’s Colloquium, Master’s Forum, subject-related support for students. Depending on the Total hours of
and Research Perspectives requirements of the individual project, this may be done 1 seminar (2) 1 presentation 5 attendance/self-study:
(Mandatory Module) in an open forum. However, the Master’s Forum can also 28/ 122
have a more general focus on content and theory, serving
as reference point for the master’s degree projects.

Master’s Thesis, Master’s Forum, Total hours of

1 master’s thesis
and Research Perspectives Writing the master’s thesis. none 25 attendance/self-study:
1 colloquium
(Mandatory Module) 0/750

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