MLA students have an opportunity to choose one of the majors:

Philosophy, Culture, Politics – The aim of PCP major is to provide the students with the knowledge about the main research orientations and with research methods and skills that are needed to identify and articulate ideas at the intersection of philosophy, culture and politics. In their MA, students are expected to conduct an academic project within the area of their interest that can be connected, for example, to the relations between religion and politics, the social and political implications of multiculturalism, the consequences of cultural relativism, or the role of culture criticism. The basic approaches to apply in the projects can be drawn from socio-political philosophy, political theory, feminist criticism and pragmatism.

 

Intercultural Communication – In this graduate seminar students explore the main research orientations within the subject of Intercultural Communication and get the main guidelines for framing MA research projects. They are introduced to theoretical models and research paradigms, discuss applicable linguistic methodologies, research procedures and possibilities in order to choose their own research topics, plan and draft their projects. Students are encouraged to read selected relevant monographs, readers, journal articles, online materials within the scope of this major. Furthermore, students are exposed to specialized and extended materials on the selected subjects and are expected to acquire specialist knowledge connected with intercultural communication and their particular topics, share and discuss their individual research interests. Suggested topics for research could include different aspects of intercultural communication, humorous subjects in different cultures, language and gender relations, Western vs Eastern cultural values. Suggested methodology of research could follow comparative studies, discourse analysis, General Theory of Verbal Humor.

 

Public Communication – In this major students explore selected areas of mediated communication (political propagandas, promotional discourses, news genres, organizational or institutional materials) in order to identify their strategies and linguistic characteristics. Students become familiar with the organization of public spheres and culture industries, the main research orientations in discourse studies and methods of text analysis. They discuss exemplary case studies in the field of public communication. As their MA, students pursue individual research that draws on their knowledge of theories and practices of public communication. They choose a specific topic related to mediated communication and analyze a sample of freely available texts/visuals trying to answer a research question related to the properties of those materials. They  evaluate the effectiveness of communication in the context of a given theory of communication/culture. The conclusions from their projects may include practical implications.

• International student teams facilitate intercultural communication, comparative perspectives and dynamic co-operation;
• General courses on philosophical, legal, historical, political and economic processes of contemporary public spheres foster reflectivity and critical stance;
• Master’s research projects can be oriented towards assessing the properties and effectiveness of various forms of socially situated communication practices or addressing social problems through interventions.