Our disciplines
At the Department of Cultural Sciences you have a choice of the following disciplines. Each discipline can be said to have its own identity, but their common ground is an interest in culture and society, whether the focus is on the present or the past.
If you are fluent in Swedish and are interested in taking courses offered in Swedish please present proof of your language skills in your application. On our page exchange studies you will find an updated list of ours courses offered in english.
You can also contact our student counsellors.
Art History and Visual Studies
A grounding in Art History is required in an increasing number of professions, in both the art field and the creative industries. We study the significance of art, images and their environment in the modern age and in historical periods such as Antiquity, the Middle Ages or the Renaissance. As a student of Art History, you will learn to apply basic theories and methods to the analysis of art and creative expression in a globalised world. Together with highly engaged teaching staff and fellow students, you will tap into a comprehensive educational tradition that is enjoyable while also sharpening your critical eye. You will develop useful art history know-how that is much in demand within the wide-ranging field of visual arts, but also in industries such as media and tourism. As our high-tech society increasingly embraces automation, knowledge about art and creativity gives you a competitive edge in the job market.
Contact
Karin Wagner
karin.wagner@gu.se
+46 (0)31-786 41 90
Cultural Analysis
What can knowledge of how young people use social media teach us about upbringing in today’s society? What can phenomena such as online gaming teach us about changing patterns of social behaviour? How can we learn about consumption habits by studying people’s thoughts before and during a trip to a department store? These are examples of the questions posed within this discipline, showing the relationship between people’s culture-creating actions and societal and cultural processes of change such as modernisation, globalisation and mediatisation. You will gain the tools to analyse how power structures and cultural values are created and maintained, and how they can be changed and reformulated. Courses in Cultural Analysis are available at undergraduate level and will make you eligible for courses at Master’s level in Children’s and Youth Culture, Ethnology and Cultural Studies. Your acquired knowledge will prove valuable in a number of professional areas where culture, norms, democracy and gender equality are key issues.
Kontakt
Catarina Bengtsson
catarina.bengtsson@kultvet.gu.se
+46 (0)31-786 5490
Film Studies
The rapid and ongoing transformation of moving image media makes Film Studies a dynamic and topical discipline. We study the meaning of moving images in contemporary media cultures, and in the film medium over its multifaceted history, reaching back more than a century. As a Film Studies student, you will learn how fundamental theories and methods can be used to analyse film and moving images. You will also develop your capacity for media criticism by studying and writing about film and moving images and discussing current issues with your fellow students and your teachers. The studies will give you useful and much sought after media and information literacy, along with a knowledge of media history that will prepare you for a career in everything from cultural journalism to your own media production, advertising, film distribution, cultural policy and education.
Contact
Karolina Westling
karolina.westling@kultvet.gu.se
+46 (0)31-786 53 34
Gender Studies
Are you keen to challenge social and cultural norms on gender, ethnicity, sexuality, class, age and ability? Are you interested in working on everyday issues of gender equality? If you have a background – or interest – in feminist theory and want to be a positive force for change in society, Gender Studies is the discipline for you. You will gain knowledge of how social norms are formed, reinforced and challenged in working life, politics, home life, art and culture, and we will examine the importance of these norms in shaping people’s identity. You will study feminist theory, masculinity research and queer theory, and explore the movements that are working to change the norms surrounding gender and sexuality. Our Gender Studies courses have a primary interest in theory and its development and a strong cultural science profile, but they also provide perspectives on gender relations that can be integrated and used in various non-academic contexts.
Contact
Jeanette Sundhall
jeanette.sundhall@wmst.gu.se
+46 (0)31-786 4328
Musicology
Would you like to learn more about music as a phenomenon that resonates through society? As a Musicology student, you will examine music past and present in its cultural, political and social context. You will be given the tools to analyse the rapid changes experienced by the music community in a globalised world and the role that music plays in people’s creation of their own identity. The discipline provides knowledge of music’s importance in both a contemporary and a historical context. Our courses discuss and problematise ideas concerning the link between music, nationality and origin. Musicology is a theoretical discipline and contains no practical musical training. Your studies will prepare you for a musical education at the higher education institutions that specialise in the arts. You will also find your musicology knowledge useful when training to be a cultural journalist, cultural administrator or music teacher, and when working as a musician or producing your own music.
Contact
Marita Rhedin
marita.rhedin@musikvet.gu.se
+46 (0)31-786 61 53