University of East Anglia (UEA), MA, Gender Studies

Julian of Norwich was the first woman known to have written a book in English. Today UEA has particular strengths in women’s writing, in feminist media studies, human rights and gender history. Our researchers have explored themes from tween girl culture and online fandom to historical and cultural perspectives on women and slavery. At UEA, academics across the arts and humanities have published influential work around gender and culture for decades. Our teaching too has consistently brought gender themes to the fore.

Understanding how the study of gender is enriched and complicated by an emphasis on ethnicity, sexuality and religion, this programme responds to a contemporary moment in which issues of equality and diversity are understood as vital for organisational success, in which public feminism has a renewed prominence in culture, and in which tackling gender inequalities remains a challenge.

Against this background, the MA Gender Studies develops the centrality of gender to humanities disciplines – literature, history, philosophy – while drawing on UEA’s strengths in interdisciplinary fields such as film and media studies, American studies and intercultural communication. On this course you will explore culture, society and history via a diverse range of disciplinary approaches and methods. In addition to learning about the history of ideas, and key writings about gender, you will think critically about the direction of contemporary gender studies and the kinds of questions we should be asking about gender equality in arts, society and culture. You will also benefit from UEA’s expertise in politics and sociology – vital to understanding social change, women’s rights and equality issues more broadly – as well as law, business and development studies.