Siiri

After completing my undergraduate degree in literature at Edinburgh, I chose the MA in Culture and Thought After 1945 in order to explore my research interests from more interdisciplinary and theoretically diverse perspectives. Having the opportunity to choose between modules from different departments has allowed me to familiarise myself with subject matters that I might not have otherwise considered.

The MA presented me with novel processes of scholarly work in which I found the overlapping critical theory particularly productive. For instance, I utilised texts from the history of economics and politics and paired them with work by feminist scholars, as well as texts by theorists of televisual culture. This resulted in my MA dissertation entitled: Televisual Female Friendships in the Age of Neoliberalism and Postfeminist Femininity: Sex and the City and Girls. I particularly enjoyed the project as I was offered the opportunity to arrange meetings with researchers and fellow students with expertise in diverse subjects, which introduced a, for me, new process of working both independently and, in many ways, collectively.

My experiences at The University of York have been exceedingly positive. The support of lecturers and supervisors has been indispensable, and the interdisciplinary focus opens up for the possibility of a larger academic, and social, network. The programme, as well as the encouragement and enthusiasm of the academic staff, has prepared and motivated me to pursue a PhD.