Culture, Media and Performative Arts

New media, film, and theatre are central to today’s cultural and creative sectors. To understand them, we need to study not only their products, but also the institutions, industries, practices, histories, and audiences that shape them. The Bachelor’s programme in Culture, Media and Performative Arts offers precisely this perspective: an interdisciplinary education in culture, media, and performance, situated in the rich and dynamic context of Central Europe.

Studying in Brno, at Masaryk University, means studying between two major cultural centres, Prague and Vienna, while also becoming part of a vibrant university city with its own strong cultural, media, and artistic life. The programme draws on this Central European setting not as a background decoration, but as a living environment for studying cultural production, media practices, performative action, and social change.

The programme combines academic knowledge, research training, and practically oriented experience. You will develop critical literacy in relation to media and cultural production, learn to analyse film, theatre, media institutions, and audiences, and acquire basic skills in working with audiovisual technologies as research and communication tools. You will also be trained in methods of empirical research, especially ethnographically oriented fieldwork, and in academic and journalistic writing.

The programme is strongly interdisciplinary. You will be introduced to film and theatre studies, media and cultural studies, and social anthropology. You will gain a deeper understanding of the history and current state of film, theatre, media, and cultural institutions in Central Europe, while also learning how to investigate them through critical, historical, aesthetic, and social-science methods.

The programme draws on the expertise of several participating departments:

• social anthropologists provide methodological training for empirical and ethnographic research;
• media scholars and practitioners introduce students to media and communication theory and to the use of audiovisual technologies as research and creative tools;
• theatre studies scholars focus on performative action in public and cultural space;
• film studies scholars examine the aesthetic, historical, and institutional contexts of media production, distribution, and reception.

As a graduate, you will be prepared either to continue in Master’s programmes in cultural studies, social anthropology, media studies, film and visual studies, theatre studies, or related fields, or to seek professional opportunities in cultural institutions, media organisations, festivals, NGOs, education, journalism, cultural management, and the creative industries.

Is this programme right for you?

This programme may be a good fit if you are interested in media, theatre, film, and culture more broadly; if you want to understand how cultural and media institutions work; if you are attracted by the cultural history and present-day diversity of Central Europe; if you want to combine theoretical knowledge with research and practical skills; and if you are considering further study or future work in media, culture, education, research, or the creative sector.

Praxe

You will develop practical research and communication skills, including basic technical competence in working with audio, photographic, and video material for research, analytical, and journalistic purposes. You will also strengthen your academic writing, critical analysis, and ability to present and communicate cultural and media-related topics to broader audiences. At the same time, you will acquire the historical knowledge and analytical tools necessary for the critical study of media products, media institutions, and the processes of cultural and media production.

In other words, the programme offers competences that are currently highly relevant and in demand, and whose importance is likely to grow in the future. An important aspect of the programme is the opportunity to gain first-hand experience through internships and fieldwork in cultural and media environments: for example, at regional film, television, or theatre festivals such as the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, One World, Ekofilm, or Mezipatra, in Czech public service media, or in regional cultural institutions. These experiences are not designed as professional filmmaking training, but as opportunities to observe, analyse, and understand how cultural and media institutions operate in practice.

Finally, we will encourage you to bring into the programme your own knowledge of the cultural, social, and media contexts of your country or region. Critical understanding of culture grows most effectively through the sharing of diverse experiences, perspectives, and forms of knowledge.

As a graduate, you will be well prepared to continue in Master’s programmes across a wide range of specialisations and countries. The programme will equip you for admission to English-taught graduate programmes such as Cultural Sociology, Conflict and Democracy Studies, or International Relations, to name only a few of the programmes offered at the Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University. 

If you acquire sufficient command of Czech, you will also be able to continue in a broader spectrum of Master’s programmes, including anthropology, media studies, the history and theory of cinema, theatre, and television, as well as more professionally oriented programmes in filmmaking, film and television dramaturgy, or production, for example at the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

After completing the programme, you will be prepared for work in selected areas of the media industries, especially film and television production, as well as in cultural management, festival and event organisation, cultural and media institutions, NGOs focused on transcultural dialogue or education, print and online media, and cultural administration in public institutions or local government.

The combination of cultural and historical knowledge, basic technical skills, methodological training, analytical competence, and intercultural experience provided by the programme will give you a strong and flexible profile on the job market. You will be able to pursue research, organisational, managerial, or communication-oriented roles in a wide range of cultural, media, and social institutions.

Jedná se o placený program akreditovaný v angličtině. Školné za jeden akademický rok činí 76000 CZK. Podmínky přijímacího řízení jsou dostupné zde: https://www.phil.muni.cz/en/studies/study-programmes-in-english/bachelor-studies/culture-media-and-performative-arts

Průvodce přihláškou

As a graduate, you will be well prepared to continue in a wide range of Master’s programmes related to culture, media, and performative arts. At Masaryk University, you may apply to English-taught Master’s programmes such as Cultural Sociology, Conflict and Democracy Studies, or International Relations, to name just a few examples. If you acquire sufficient command of Czech, you will also be able to continue in Czech-taught Master’s programmes across a broader range of fields, including anthropology, media studies, and the history and theory of cinema, theatre, and television.