Arts & Culture: Media Cultures and Environments

Media cultures and environments are deeply interconnected. Media do not simply represent the world around us; they constitute the environments we live in. Screens and other devices permeate everyday life, influencing how we perceive, communicate, and act. At the same time, these technologies depend on resources from the natural environment: Minerals, water, energy. Even our understanding of the environment is structured through media. Cinema, social networks, and other audiovisual practices shape how we relate to the natural world, while sensor technologies and data visualizations enable new forms of monitoring and managing ecosystems.

This unique master’s programme equips you with skills to navigate the technological, aesthetic, and environmental dimensions of contemporary and historical media cultures: from film and visual arts to social media, apps, and digital platforms.

Four reasons to choose Media Cultures and Environments at VU Amsterdam:

• Combine a strong conceptual and theoretical grounding with the analysis of concrete cultural and artistic practices.
• Gain media literacy skills to historically contextualise a fast-paced audiovisual culture.
• A globally unique focus on media, art, and environment.
• Opportunities to exchange with professionals in the field.