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Global Arts, Culture and Politics

Study programme

We live in times of large global transitions and urgent threats. The environment, looted art and fake news dominate current media, museum exhibitions and performance arts. In this Bachelor's programme these debates take centre stage. Global Arts, Culture and Politics teaches you the necessary skills and knowledge to engage with the global challenges of today from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Bachelor's Week Information session (recording)

See this recording of our November 2023 live session, in which the Global Arts, Culture and Politics Bachelor's programme is illustrated in detail.

The programme in short

You will study art as a medium, the big history of art and the relationship between power and representation. You look at culture and ecology and study sustainability from multiple perspectives. You research the politics of culture and learn to understand how contemporary culture is highly politicised. Artificial intelligence deeply influences our daily lives. We analyse how this works and what consequences AI has ethically, politically, and sociologically. You acquire skills such as (academic) writing, creating (websites, videos, exhibitions), archival research, discourse analysis, public speaking, debating, programming, interview techniques and quantitative research. These valuable tools enable you to understand, analyse and to engage actively with various global challenges.

COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Culture Wars: Introducing Culture and Social Justice
    3

    Struggles for social justice often make use of cultural symbols, artistic forms of expression and language as a tool of dissent. They thereby challenge hard-wired assumptions around the stability of cultures and call into question who belongs or is excluded from culture’s terrains.

  • Skills: Writing About Arts, Culture and Politics
    3

    This course provides a foundation in writing for different media and purposes, with an emphasis on basic academic writing. Students practise various styles, give editorial feedback, and work with AI tools while producing texts such as an opinion piece.

  • Historicising the Global
    6

    This course traces and unsettles the emergence of “The Global” through key artistic, cultural and historical developments of the past 500 years, and investigates alternative global histories and imaginaries through varied cultural and artistic practices.

  • Philosophy of Science and the Humanities
    6

    Students are introduced to key modes of thought at the intersection of Science and the Humanities and to formative debates from which lasting frameworks of analysis emerged in the 20th century.

  • Skills: Visual Literacy
    3

    In museums, students learn to look at, describe and analyse artworks, formulate an opinion based on their observations, and apply these analytical tools to non-art objects.

  • Writing Women into History: Introducing Art and Media
    3

    This course introduces the challenges and consequences of revisionist history through the example of women and gender inequality, and teaches methods and instruments to approach topical questions.

  • The Power of Persuasion: Argumentation and Rhetoric in the Information Age I
    6

    Students are introduced to core concepts from argumentation theory and the rhetorical tradition, explore persuasive discourse in domains such as political communication and online platforms, and learn to think critically about how persuasive communication shapes opinions and behaviours.

  • Cultural Sociology
    6

    Students study influential thinkers and foundational theories of sociology in relation to the Western contexts that shaped them. The course critiques Eurocentric assumptions without denying their value, and explores feminist, queer and decolonial perspectives toward a more pluriversal sociology.

  • Skills: Digital Literacy & Archival Research
    3

    Students learn to organise and analyse digital and analogue information by practising digital research methods. The course combines theoretical reflections on archives and digitisation with training in online research skills, emphasising reflexivity, ethics, and the challenges of digital inquiry.

  • Fake News: Introducing The Human and AI
    3

    Students examine the promises and risks of artificial intelligence in art, culture, and politics. They study generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, analyse their creative and societal implications, and learn to detect and critically assess AI-generated content.

  • Skills: Interviews & On Site Research
    3

    Students learn to conduct interviews and apply on-site research methods through hands-on practice. The course combines theoretical introduction with training in research techniques, teamwork, and observation, while addressing reflexivity, ethics, and the challenges of field research.

  • Earth Politics and the Future of Life: Introducing Reimagining Sustainability
    3

    The course examines the climate emergency as a political and ethical phenomenon through biocentric and decolonial perspectives on nature, development, and sustainability. Students explore global case studies connecting environmental sustainability, climate justice, and the role of art in shaping sustainable futures.

  • Global Politics and Power
    12
COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • Major specific courses
    48

    - Major - Art & Media - Major - The Human and Artificial Intelligence - Major - Culture and Social Justice - Major - Reimagining Sustainability

  • Philosophy of Science and the Humanities
    6

    The course explores key modes of thought linking science and the humanities since the nineteenth century. Students study formative debates that shaped twentieth-century frameworks of analysis and examine their epistemic influence on contemporary research cultures and the GACP specialisation streams.

  • Key Stories II: Arts, Culture and Politics in the World
    6
COURSES SEM 1 SEM 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER 2 EC
  • (Programme related) Electives or Minor
    48
  • Bachelor’s Thesis or Final Bachelor Project
    12
Compulsory course
Elective
UvA Course Catalogue: Global Arts, Culture and Politics
Podcast: Writing Women Into History

Global Arts, Culture and Politics students have created two podcast episodes for the course Writing Women Into History. The episodes focus on the underexposed role of women in history.

Listen to the podcast

The first year

  • In the first year, you will lay a broad foundation in the fields of art and media, sustainability, cultural policy and artificial intelligence. You will also gain skills in doing interdisciplinary research, and academic writing.

The second and third year

  • In the second year, you will start your specialisation by choosing one of the four majors on the different global challenges. Additionally, you will be taught 'Philosophy of Humanities and Science' and follow the course 'Key Stories' with lectures from hot-shot specialists from various faculties and political, cultural and media figures.
  • In the third year, you will take two electives and a minor, either in a different discipline within the Humanities or at a different faculty. You will also have the opportunity to study abroad. The programme will be completed with a Bachelor’s project in cooperation with cultural, artistic or governmental organisations.
  • You choose to specialise in one of our four majors:
  • Art and Media

    In this major, you study art as a medium, with an emphasis on the past. How was art used to justify social status (or political power)? How does portraiture convey power and identity, and what contribution did world maps have to the colonial aspirations of governments?

    You will analyse themes and gain insights from fields such as:

    • Art History
    • Book History
    • Cultural Industries
    • Heritage Studies
    • History
    • Looted objects
    • Museums Studies
    • Music Studies
    • Theatre Studies
    • Technology
    • Visual Culture and Propaganda
    Since #MeToo, women are listened to and believed at face value, which has changed how we think about the past and the present. In our major, students learn how to do archival research to find women’s voices and write them into history. Dr Judith Noorman
  • Reimagining Sustainability

    In this interdisciplinary major you will study sustainability from multiple perspectives. Courses will explore the historical roots of the concept, the place of sustainability in contemporary ecopolitics, and the important role arts and culture can play in shaping more sustainable futures. You will analyse themes and gain insights from fields such as: 

    • Deep ecology
    • Ecofeminism
    • Nature and modernity
    • Degrowth
    • Sustainability in past societies
    • The Anthropocene
    • Indigenous approaches to sustainability
    • Art and the environment
    • Sustainable practices in cultural institutions
    Museums and other cultural institutions have an important role to play in fighting climate change and shaping a more sustainable future for the planet. Dr Colin Sterling
  • Culture and Social Justice

    Contemporary culture connects and divides. Film, music, art, dance and theatre travel across the globe faster than ever, bringing people closer. Simultaneously, proximity creates friction. In a globalising, post-colonial world (social) media discussions on topics such as gender, racism and #me that rub against different cultural norms existing in society can result in conflict. The arts are then often invoked to mediate and transform the problem of culture into a remedy.

    The core themes of the major Culture and Social Justice are the global transformations of cultural practices, their underlying conceptions of culture and the socio-economic inequalities these create or tackle. You will analyse themes and gain insights from fields such as:

    • (Post-)Colonial Studies
    • Critical Heritage Studies
    • Cultural Policy
    • Gender & Sexuality Studies
    • Global Studies
    • Migration Studies
    To some people fashion can bring enjoyment; to others it can even mean empowerment. Yet, fashion is also the product of a global industry that is structurally riddled with injustice in terms of gender, race and class, as well as in the way it appropriates indigenous cultures and pollutes the planet. In order to grasp this complex global phenomenon, we cannot do without a social justice approach. Dr Christine Delhaye
  • The Human and Artificial Intelligence

    Artificial intelligence deeply influences our daily lives: in the way we listen to music on Spotify, consume (fake) news, or contact friends on WhatsApp. This major will address questions of big data and AI from the point of view of the humanities and arts. We will study how AI works, how it is it programmed, and what consequences it has ethically, politically and sociologically. You will learn about the growing importance of AI in contemporary culture and society and study the critical thinking and intellectual debates in this fast-developing field, while acquiring the tools and framework to analyse new cultural and social datasets with AI methods. You will analyse themes and gain insights from fields such as:

    • Artificial Intelligence and Ethics
    • AI and Politics
    • Content
    • Digital Humanities
    • Fake news
    • Media Studies (such as TV, film, photography and social media)
    • Platformisation
    AI has always been an interdisciplinary object. The humanities play an important role in developing its future. Prof. Tobias Blanke, Humanities and Computing Expert
  • Internship and studying abroad

    The programme allows for you to do an internship and/or to study abroad in the third year. 

    Internship

    You can enrich your study programme as well as your CV by doing an internship. This will allow you to gain experience of the broad range of opportunities available to graduates of GACP. Students enrolled in the programme have previously followed internships in journalism, curating, educational charities, research and theatre programming. 

    Studying abroad

    The UvA offers exchange opportunities with partner universities across the world, from South Africa to Finland, Chile to Japan. This gives you the opportunity to study abroad and expand your knowledge of arts, culture and politics in a global context. See current opportunities on the UvA World Map.

  • Double Bachelor's degree and Honours programme

    Would you like to be challenged even more? You can choose to do two Bachelor’s degrees or follow the Honours programme.

    Double Bachelor’s in Humanities

    The Faculty of Humanities offers the possibility to obtain a degree from two different Bachelor's programmes. By means of exemptions you can obtain two degrees with a reduced effective workload. The double Bachelor's is intended for motivated students who are looking for an extra challenge and/or a broader perspective during their studies.

    Read more about the Double Bachelor's

    Honours programme

    Highly-motivated students may qualify to take part in a selective Honours programme. This programme accounts for an additional 30 ECTS and will help familiarise you with various other aspects of academic research and prepare you for a subsequent Research Master's degree.

    Read more about the Honours programme
  • Learning and assessment

    As a Bachelor’s student, you are expected to spend an average of 42 hours a week on your studies. Around 10 to 15 hours a week are spent attending lectures. The remaining time will be spent on self-study, preparing for lectures, seminars and exams, as well as completing coursework and assignments. In your second and third years you will have less hours of lectures and spent more time on self-study. 

    • During lectures, the lecturer will discuss and explain the literature you read and studied beforehand.
    • In the seminars, you will work closely with your fellow students, collaborating on assignments, presentations and talks.
    • Assessment consists of written or oral exams, presentations, essays, reports and assignments.
Elena Cecconi, student
Ultimately, I was missing a certain humanistic approach and that’s why I chose Global Arts, Culture and Politics. Elena Cecconi, student Read the intervieuw