Visual Studies Stellenbosch University

Overview

It is widely understood that visual communication plays an increasingly important role in our fast-paced, globalised milieu. The Master's degree in Visual Studies at the Stellenbosch University equips students to decode and understand visual phenomena from a variety of contexts, including popular culture, media, film, the music industry and Fine arts. 

As an innately interdisciplinary subject, Visual Studies incorporates a broad range of critical theories from a variety of fields, including feminism, postcolonial studies, critical race and whiteness studies, psychoanalytic theory, museum studies and philosophy, to enable students to write and speak critically about visual images, objects, institutions and practices.

Aims

• To produce graduates who are able to apply a range of theoretical tools to a wide array of visual phenomena

• To inculcate in graduates responsiveness to the particular sensitivities surrounding visual representation in South Africa's fraught postcolonial context and to cultivate a responsible and self-reflexive approach to students' own research and academic inquiry

• To produce graduates capable of filling posts in a variety of contexts, including academia, museums, galleries, education and journalism