Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies alumni experiences
Michael Keerdo-Dawson
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2019), Lecturer, Filmmaker.
My experience with the Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA was very positive; I was introduced to a whole new world of cultural theory and philosophy; gained skills in close reading, academic research, and critical analysis; and also improved my abilities as a writer and presenter. I would recommend this MA for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of cinema, literature, and culture. Whether you are a budding theorist or practitioner, this programme will deepen your understanding and make you think differently.
On 1st of June 2024 he defended his
Hazuki Okemoto
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2019), Translator, Marketer, Customer Support, Salesperson.
I have once written an essay about the devils and demons for a course regarding the Medieval arts in this programme. Why? - Because I got this idea in Kaunas while travelling. I didn’t know that I had been so creative and considered myself as just a person who does and likes (fine) arts before coming to Tallinn from the countryside of Japan. Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies is an interdisciplinary programme, which provided me with a number of opportunities to broaden my potentials and belief that I can produce creative writing and visual arts.
Silvia Kurr
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2019), Teacher of English, PhD student.
The Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA programme expanded my knowledge beyond my primary field of research and helped me find a research topic for a PhD project in the field of intermedial studies. As an international programme, this MA gives students a great chance to make friends from all over the world. For me personally, it was perhaps the best part of the whole experience. I would recommend this programme for anyone who has diverse research interests and is looking for an opportunity to study in an international environment.
Monireh Sadat Razavi Ganji
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2020)
As an innovative joint programme between Tallinn University and the Estonian Academy of Arts, "Literature Visual Culture and Film Studies" enables its students to gain comparative knowledge, interdisciplinary skills, and intercultural experience with a distinctive approach. I feel so honoured to have joined this newly established programme as one of its pioneering students."
Juliana De Carvalho
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2020)
"The practical training experience at the Black Nights Film Festival gave me more knowledge than I could have ever expected. It also confirmed how the cinema of festivals and the cinema of diversity brings an enriching experience that goes beyond what we are used to seeing in the mainstream channels of film distribution. This experience was extremely motivating for my future as a professional and for me as a person who loves cinema and art."
Bernadette Ščasná
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2020), Junior Research Fellow, PhD student.
If you have many passions but do not wish to head in a single direction, the Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA programme might be the right one for you – that is, if you are not afraid of the cold Estonian winter. The best part about the programme for me was the fact that it is open to people with different academic backgrounds which often resulted in interesting discussions and group work. I myself did not know much about film or art theory before joining the programme but what I have learned was very interesting and useful. I enjoyed the wide range of possibilities when choosing my research topic and was glad that I could turn my hobby (films and video games) into an MA thesis. One of the highlights was also the possibility to help out with the organization of different festivals, which also gave me some practical experience. Thanks to this programme I was able to gain new perspectives, learn a lot of things, and visit some interesting museums.
Mayra Lynn Assink
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2021)
I chose the Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA Programme for its wide and interdisciplinary approach. I wanted to find an international MA that combined Film and Literature and I was given a programme that did this and more. Now, when people ask me what I studied, I tell them that I studied narratives in all their forms and beyond the act of writing. Especially critical analysis, close reading and creativity were emphasised. My favourite courses were the seminars in which we as students teamed up with a professor and emerged ourselves in the field they were doing research on. This not only brought a lot of knowledge together but also gave one the confidence to continue research in the field that one found interesting. I would definitely recommend this programme to anyone who has an interest in an international research environment and who is keen to learn more about the way any kind of narrative emerges.
Margherita Marchetti
Literature, Visual Culture and Film Studies MA (2021)
As a curious person, I always felt the need to expand my knowledge, to investigate concepts and to express my own point of view on them. I could not think of specializing in just one branch of cultural studies without feeling I was missing out on all the rest. When I first read the name of this program, I thought "this is the one for me." Does it sound too naïve? Well, it was.
This program was the right place for me to develop my critical thinking and to learn to express myself through academic, yet personal and creative writing. Do you know the story about Academia that put you in boxes? Well, it is definitely not about this program. During my studies I always felt supported by teachers in my personal research; I have been encouraged to deeply investigate cultural materials and to express my perspective on them. This program creates the space for brilliant discussions concerning cultural academic topics, through the comparative analysis of literary, visual and audiovisual material. Sometimes it was challenging, but it was always worth it.
I would recommend this program to anybody who wants to gain a relevant cultural knowledge, and who is searching for a stimulating, international cultural environment.
Rahul Sharma
Junior Researcher-Doctoral Student at Estonian Academy of Arts
Being a film scholar and filmmaker, I often grappled with combining theoretical knowledge with practical experiences. LVF seemed to bridge that gap offering an interdisciplinary study of literature, film and visual culture, and broadened my theoretical perspective.
The intensive seminars ranged from a variety of topics including film theory, ecocriticism, memory studies as well as giving one ample opportunity to chart their own development through free electives. With an emphasis on intertextuality, narratology and cultural theory, the course not only underlines philosophical and historical implications of the study of audiovisual media and literary texts, but sets a breeding ground for future researchers.
Personally, the course allowed me to undertake writing a thesis on representation of diasporic identities in cinema. Completion of the course helped me get accepted to a PhD programme of my choice within a year. Currently, I am researching representations of in-between Russian-Estonian identities in visual art and documentary films, while I will teach some general courses and other specialised courses on Indian cinema at EKA in the forthcoming semesters.