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The University of Southampton
FilmPart of HumanitiesPostgraduate study

Jingyi (Linda) Kang MA in Film and Cultural Management

Jingyi (Linda) Kang's Photo

Hi, I'm Jingyi (Linda) Kang and I studied MA in Film and Cultural Management within Film at the University of Southampton.

This MA offered me a lot of interesting and valuable knowledge and experience… Studying in the Faculty of Humanities was the greatest experience for me. Here you have nice tutors and classmates! They helped and supported me a lot in the last one year not only in academic study, but also in personal life. Indeed, I really enjoyed life and study in Southampton.

1. Why did you choose to apply to join the MA in Film and Cultural Management at Southampton?

It was the right time for me to have a different experience in a new country and the right time meant that I had a strong heart to face all the problems in a brand new world, maybe like Alice searching in Wonderland. Secondly, my major in my undergraduate course was associated with mass media, radio, paper press, film and TV. Among these media, film was my favourite and it was the only part that I wanted to explore more deeply as a future career.

When choosing this MA course in University of Southampton, I was aware that there are two main directions of Film Studies in the UK, one is learning practical skills of film production, such as editing, screening and writing; the other one is like the course in the Southampton, the MA Film and Cultural Management. This course mainly concentrates on academic studies in film and cultural analyses, including the cultural impact of film, cultural industries, film policies in the worldwide and film theories.

Also, the UK is a great country and I was attracted by its a strong cultural history. Moreover, the UK also has a strong background in professional independent film production, distribution and exhibition. Indeed, these aspects were what I was interested in and wanted to learn about during my time in Southampton.

2. What aspects of the MA have you found the most interesting or valuable?

This MA offered me a lot of interesting and valuable knowledge and experience. Among these, there are two most valuable aspects: the teaching methods used and the opportunities for cultural exchange which helped me during this MA period.

Regarding the first aspect, the teaching methods used were excellent, helping me to cultivate and improve my personal thoughts and views on film and cultural studies. These methods include workshops, discussion and seminars. In China, I learnt knowledge from tutors but was seldom able to convey personal thoughts and ideas. With the teaching methods at Southampton, tutors provide a free and comfortable discussion environment for the whole class. As for me, these study methods gave me examples, encouragement and support to be able to complete the course.

Secondly, I had a great experience of cultural exchange during this MA study. When living in Southampton, it was so great that classmates were from all over the world and different thoughts were represented, which led discussions with cultural exchanging and it was interesting and helpful to acquire different thoughts from different cultures on one film. After all, film represents and communicates culture.

3. What skills or knowledge do you think you have gained from the course in terms of your future career?

Due to its written assignments and dissertation, this MA study brought me comprehensive practice of academic writing skills and planning and management methods.

English is not my native language and this was the first time that I really leant and experienced the UK academic writing style, including how to structure, argue and analyse the topic and how to conclude my discussion. With significant support from tutors, I gradually made progress during this MA period even though there are still some areas needing to be improved.

Good skills of planning and managing a project were another significant experience not only within the MA studying time but also for my future career. After choosing a study area, the dissertation project requires a plan, including time, methodology, recourses and data, a research question and expected perspectives. How to manage all these aspects determines the result of this project. Having been trained from shorter essays to the dissertation itself, I understood the importance of these skills and gradually cultivated to plan to manage what followed.

4. How have you found the general experience of studying at Southampton and living in the UK - would you recommend it?

It was the first time that I had left China to visit, and it was also a brand new place for studying in Southampton, so I was curious and a little bit afraid of this new life. However, it was so lucky to have a chance of living in this place. Southampton is in the south of the UK and the weather is moderate all year around. Additionally, the surroundings are quiet and peaceful and people are friendly.

For recommendations of personal life, buying Chinese food and condiment are very convenient at Burgess Road and Portswood Road. As for the traffic system, the University has exclusive Uni-link buses travelling from the city centre to University campus for students who have no cars. When I travelled to other universities in UK, I seldom found any others having this traffic system.

Studying in the Faculty of Humanities was the greatest experience for me. Here you have nice tutors and classmates! They helped and supported me a lot in the last one year not only in academic study, but also in personal life. Indeed, I really enjoyed life and study in Southampton.

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