Media and English

Media and English is a combination that examines both the structures and practices of contemporary media and the long tradition of literary and textual analysis that English studies has developed. Media studies asks how news, entertainment, and culture are produced, distributed, and consumed, and what effects those processes have on audiences, public discourse, and political life. English brings to that conversation a deep set of analytical tools for reading texts closely, understanding genre and form, tracing the historical development of language and narrative, and thinking critically about the relationship between literature and culture.

Together the two disciplines produce a genuinely powerful analytical range.

At Goldsmiths' College, this three-year, full-time programme is taught within an institution with a long-standing reputation for critical and creative work in both media and the arts. Goldsmiths approaches both disciplines with a critical edge, encouraging you to question assumptions about media power, representation, and value as well as to develop your close reading and analytical writing skills across literary and media texts. You will engage with film, television, journalism, digital media, and social media alongside poetry, fiction, and drama, developing the capacity to move between different kinds of text with analytical confidence.

Goldsmiths' south-east London location, its diverse student community, and its connections to the creative and media industries make it an unusually well-situated place to study both subjects. The intellectual culture of the institution is distinctive, and many graduates go on to work in areas that reflect that critical and creative combination.

Graduates work in journalism, broadcasting, publishing, digital media, public relations, education, arts organisations, and many other fields where the combination of media literacy and textual analytical skill is valued. Postgraduate study in media studies, English literature, cultural studies, or journalism is a natural next step for those who wish to specialise or pursue research.