Contemporary Arts Research – (M.A.)

Contents

Structure

The course is taught through three successive interdisciplinary modules which enable each student to acquire generic research skills whilst developing a specific research topic through writing and/or practice. You will develop a single research receiving support and guidance specifically related to your project through one-to-one sessions with a supervisor who is expert in the relevant area of the contemporary arts. The three core modules are:

* Sources Study in the Contemporary Arts enable students to collect and analyse a variety of primary and secondary sources relevant to their research topic through practical 'hands-on' training including the advanced features of the on-line library catalogues bibliographical databases, e-journals and e-books, and subsequent 1-2-1 sessions with the subject librarian, analysis of manuscripts, AV materials, artists notebooks, bibliographical guides, literature reviews and other kinds of source studies.
* Research Methods in the Contemporary Arts enables the formulation and communication of research questions while supporting the development of a research methodology appropriate to your research. The module encompasses the design of research questions and writing-based research methods as well as a review of practice-based research methods for the contemporary arts.
* Students prepare a written and/or practice-based research project through the development of a Contemporary Arts Research Project which provides the opportunity to undertake an optional overseas study trip. Assessment is in the form of a 25,000 word written thesis, a major practical presentation/portfolio, or a combination of a written thesis and practical presentation/portfolio.

Features

As a quality provider of postgraduate level research training, LICA’s approach is flexible enough to accommodate students who want to develop skills in conventional academic methods and outcomes, and students undertaking practice-as-research or who want to produce unconventional output for assessment. We are adept at supporting discipline-specific as well as interdisciplinary research projects. The course prepares students with a thorough training and preparation for doctoral level research in a wide range of areas across the contemporary arts.

Students are able to make use of advanced features of on-line library catalogues and databases, and organize bibliographical and other kinds of data sources teaches students how to locate and delineate existing sources for their research in preparation for later stages of postgraduate research. Training in research methods encourages students to reflect on the processes through which they can evolve and formulate research questions and design subject specific research methods intrinsic to those questions.

Students undertake a major research project that enables the development and testing of creative, critical and expositional methods of research through which you can produce a substantial written thesis in response to a set of research questions and/or the production and documentation of a substantial creative project in response to a single set of common research questions.