Program and courses Online Culture: Art, Media and Society BA

In the first year of the Bachelor’s program you take introductory courses designed to familiarize yourself with the various tracks of the program.

You will take the following courses:

• Introduction to Online Culture - Part 1 + Learning Pathway Online Writing and Publishing
• Introduction to Online Culture - Part 2 + Learning Pathway Online Writing and Publishing
• Transformations of the Public Sphere
• Thinking about Science
• Digital Culture and Society
• Media, Globalization and Popular Culture
• The Ceremonial Society
• Interpretation of Cultural Expressions
• Intermediality

Additionally, you take several skills courses including Academisch Nederlands (optional), Academic English and Doing Research: Methodology. You will participate in an active Mentorship program (PASS OC 1) and get acquainted with our counselors of Student Career Services. You will also start with your personal Career Orientation Plan.

The second year is fully devoted to the track you choose: Art in the Public Sphere, Digital Media, Global Communication or Dutch Language and Culture (in Dutch). Besides a set of compulsory courses, you have the freedom to choose elective courses.

In year 2, the focus builds on your academic skills. You will take part in Talent Management training as part of your Career Orientation Plan. In this training, you explore your talents and map out your desired job market profile. You will uncover answers to questions like: 'Who am I?', 'What do I want?' and 'What am I good at?'. 

Further down this page, you will find more information about the tracks and the courses.

In the third year, you follow five minor courses supplemented by two courses that you choose from a range of electives. Instead of following an elective, you also have the opportunity to do a short internship and/or research what it means to be an entrepreneur in the cultural field. 

You will attend a Labor Market Orientation workshop as part of your Career Orientation Plan where you gain insight into your opportunities.  You will finish the third year with a Bachelor's thesis.

The minor: choose your own elective courses

You can use the minor to further specialize in your chosen direction. But you can also choose to broaden your knowledge and take courses in a different field. You can take courses at Tilburg University or another university in the Netherlands. It is also possible to do an exchange semester at a renowned university abroad without having to worry about study delay!

When you consider doing a Master’s in a different field of study after your Bachelor’s in Online Culture: Art, Media and Society, you can use your minor to gain prior knowledge that is required. 

This track gives an insight in how art and (digital) media influence each other. 
You study cultural expressions and artistic performances in the international and societal context from which they arise:

• What exactly happens during a particular artistic expression and how does the audience respond to it?
• How do creators and critics position themselves in the societal debate, for example, through online discussions?  
• In what way does the reading culture change when the accent shifts from literary novels to fanfiction on blogs?
• How can an artwork trigger a broad discussion or even social change?

Courses are about all kinds of contemporary artistic phenomena: from literary texts to television series and video clips, from religious rituals to tattoos, museum art, or guerrilla architecture. The starting point is always the study of artistic practices and their effect in the public sphere.

Core curriculum Year 2:

• Participatory Art
• Heritage, Art and Globalization
• Philosophy of Art, Media and Society
• The Truth of Fiction
• Feminist Artists and Intellectuals in the Public Sphere
• Digital Media Aesthetics
• Doing Research: Discourse Analysis
• Doing Research: Survey Design and Analysis OR Doing Research: Ethnography (choose one)

Additionally, you choose two of the following courses or courses that are compulsory in the other tracks:

• Visual Culture and Semiotics
• Digital Literacies
• Gender and Culture
• Evil and Disaster in Art
• Visual Culture and the Body
• Management, Organization and Culture

Curriculum Year 3

• Minor (30 ECTS)
• Bachelor's thesis OC

Additionally, you choose two electives from these options:

• Visual Culture and Semiotics
• Digital Literacies
• Gender and Culture
• Evil and Disaster in Art
• Visual Culture and the Body
• Management, Organization and Culture
• Internship

Plus you choose one of these courses:

• Humanities in the Digital Age
• Entrepreneurship in the Cultural Field.

Go to the course descriptions

In this track you examine the effects of digitalization on several domains and aspects of our lives. Digital media have become a self-evident part of almost all personal, professional, social and political activities. That is why, in this program you approach digitalization from a broader perspective.

You study how digital media are structured, how they function, and how digitalization has ensured new cultural products and art forms, other social practices and new ways of experiencing the world:

• How do digital media influence the way people are involved in political decision-making and public administration?
• How have digital media changed our views on privacy?
• How much influence does Google have on our knowledge and opinions?

In this track, you acquire the knowledge and skills to critically analyze and interpret the growing digitalization's developments in society. You learn how to analyze and interpret cultural and social phenomena in a contemporary way and to voice your own opinion in a presentation, debate, or (online) publication. These skills are highly acclaimed by both national and international employers.

Core curriculum Year 2:

• The Private Life in a Digital World
• Reading and Writing in Online Culture
• Digital Media and Politics
• Digital Media and Journalism
• The Digital Individual
• Philosophy of Art, Media and Society
• Doing Research: Discourse Analysis
• Doing Research: Survey Design and Analysis OR Doing Research: Ethnography (choose one)

Additionally, you choose two electives from these options: 

• Visual Culture and Semiotics
• Digital Literacies
• Evil and Disaster in Art
• Gender and Culture
• Visual Culture and the Body
• Management, Organization and Culture.

Curriculum Year 3:

• Minor (30 ECTS)
• Bachelor's thesis OC

Additionally, you choose two electives from these options or courses that are compulsory in the other tracks:

• Visual Culture and Semiotics
• Digital Literacies
• Evil and Disaster in Art
• Gender and Culture
• Visual Culture and the Body
• Management, Organization and Culture
• Internship

Plus you choose between one of these:

• Humanities in the Digital Age
• Entrepreneurship in the Cultural Field.

Go to the course descriptions

In this track you acquire extensive knowledge on international communication, the consequences of increased mobility and the diversity that accords with it. Thanks to social media, smartphones, and cheap flight tickets for example, it has become relatively easy to stay in touch with family and friends abroad. What are the consequences of these developments? And what role does intercultural communication play in international advertising, trade, conflict management and negotiations?

As a Global Communication student, you are concerned with issues such as:

• Is it possible to hold on to culture, language or dialect in a globalized world? And what happens when you do not?
• Do globalization and digitalization lead to equal opportunities for everyone or do they feed inequality between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-not’s’?
• How can we ensure that people get a chance to develop all skills necessary to participate in this rapidly changing society?

Core curriculum Year 2:

• Multiculturalism and Identity
• Communication in Global Settings
• Philosophy of Art, Media and Society
• Global Communications Infrastructure
• Media Practices and Cultural Differences
• Globalization and its consequences
• Doing Research: Discourse Analysis
• Doing Research: Survey Design and Analysis OR Doing Research: Ethnography (choose one)

Additionally, you choose two of the following courses or courses that are compulsory in the other tracks:

• The Private Life in a Digital World
• The Truth of Fiction
• Visual Culture and Semiotics
• Digital Literacies
• Evil and Disaster in Art
• Media, Globalization and Popular Culture
• Gender and Culture
• Visual Culture and the Body
• Management, Organization and Culture

Curriculum Year 3:

• Minor (30 ECTS)
• Bachelor's thesis OC

Additionally, you choose two electives from these options or courses that are compulsory in the other tracks:

• Visual Culture and Semiotics
• Digital Literacies
• Evil and Disaster in Art
• Gender and Culture
• Visual Culture and the Body
• Management, Organization and Culture
• Internship

Plus you choose between one of these:

• Humanities in the Digital Age
• Entrepreneurship in the Cultural Field

Go to the course descriptions

In the Dutch Language and Cultural track you will acquire in-depth knowledge about literature, media, language, and communication:

• What new opportunities do digital media offer for telling and experiencing stories?
• What is media literacy and why is it so important?
• How do your reading and writing skills change as a result of digitalization?

The track is only offered in Dutch. Do you want to read more about this Bachelor's program?

Go to our Dutch website about Online Culture: Art, Media and Society?