Film and Visual Culture and German

Film and visual culture with German is a combination that brings a strongly European dimension to the study of cinema and the moving image. Film and visual culture examines how images, films and screen media construct meaning, shape identity and participate in the political and cultural life of the societies that produce and consume them. German adds linguistic access to one of the richest cinematic and cultural traditions on the continent, from the expressionist cinema of the Weimar Republic and postwar New German Cinema through to contemporary German-language film and television.

At the University of Aberdeen you will develop rigorous training in the history and theory of the moving image alongside real German language proficiency and an understanding of the culture and society of German-speaking countries. You will explore German cinema as both a body of artistic work and as a window into the social, political and historical contexts that produced it, and you will develop analytical skills applicable to a wide range of media and cultural forms. The programme runs over five years full time, allowing for the sustained language development that genuine proficiency in German requires alongside deep engagement with film and visual culture.

Graduates of this combination move into careers in film and television production, broadcasting, journalism, arts administration, cultural institutions, publishing and the wider creative and media industries. German language skills open additional possibilities in international organisations, cultural diplomacy, business development and any role with a European or German-language dimension. The analytical capabilities developed through film and visual culture study transfer broadly into communications, media management and cultural policy.

Postgraduate study in film studies, German, European cinema or cultural studies provides a natural further route.