The master’s degree program in Media Dramaturgy specializes in the history, aesthetics and theory of audiovisual media, focusing on the moving image. It offers an overarching examination of media dramaturgies and strategies of staging. The program takes a practical approach to cross-media interfaces, encouraging students to reflect critically on a variety of media formats and conduct their own research. Students also have the opportunity to gain insights into the practical processes involved in media work.
Media Dramaturgy at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz is:
… project-oriented
An essential part of the degree programme is the Media Dramaturgy Lab, which can be completed in the first and second semesters. These courses introduce you to various tasks and aspects of media production, giving you the opportunity to work on the conception and development of your own media projects, both individually and in groups.… cross-media
In our theoretical and practical hands-on courses, we explore media formats ranging from cinema, television, and radio to acoustic and performative arts, as well as web-based narrative forms, interactive narratives, and games. This includes both documentary and fictional works.
… transdisciplinary
The Media Dramaturgy program operates within a national and international research network. It collaborates closely with other disciplines in the Department of Film, Theater, Media, and Cultural Studies (FTMK), as well as with broadcasters, film festivals, and other regional cultural institutions.
You will engage with audiovisual moving image cultures and learn about the current conceptual approaches, methods, and perspectives of film studies and media dramaturgy. The following seminars have been offered here in recent years: “Critical Phenomenology of the Body,” “Audiovisual Forms of the Migration Experience,” “Theories of Political Aesthetics,” “Production Studies,” and “Cinematic Cities.”
This study phase offers an inside look at current research strategies and processes in media production. There are project-oriented events that introduce practical work and the conceptualization and implementation of hands-on media projects. The focus is on the two Media Dramaturgy Labs, I (winter semester) and II (summer semester).
This module addresses the historical, social, political, and aesthetic interrelationships between the dramaturgy of moving image media and technical and social systems in a transdisciplinary manner. Recent semesters have featured courses such as “Film and Media Historiography from the Perspective of Digital Cultures,” “Image and Text,” “Critical Data Studies in Film and Media Studies,” and “TOUCH – Between Physical Contact and Artistic Impact.”
The main focus in this phase of study is learning to situate one’s work within a broader research landscape. This involves developing differentiated, nuanced research questions and working on academic tasks, such as the master’s thesis. Courses in this module include: “Narrative Theories in Media Comparison,” “Platform Dramaturgies,” “Race and Media Technologies,” “Graphic Narratives / Visual Culture,” “Ethnography and Film in the Work of Jean Rouch,” “Bodies as Mediatized Sites of Difference,” and “Film History as Television History and Television History as Film History”.
You can test your academic skills in a non-academic setting and gain work experience. In recent years, students have completed internships in the editorial department of Kleines Fernsehspiel – ZDF, in the Film and Planning department of SWR, in production companies such as Bentlevision (Berlin) and with video game developers such as ByteRockers Games (Berlin).
Alternatively, you can broaden your knowledge with seminars on cultural anthropology/ European ethnology, theater studies, media studies, human geography, media law, art history, or media management.
For your master’s thesis, you can choose between an academic and a practice-based work (which includes an academic reflection).
For more information, see the curriculum overview and the module catalog.
Admission requirement is a B.A. degree in Film Studies or a related film, arts or media studies subject with at least 30 ETCS in Film, Television and New Media. If you would like to ensure that you meet this requirement, you can contact studienfachberatung-mediendramaturgie@uni-mainz.de.
The main language of instruction is German. Some of the course literature is in English. Your English skills should enable you to read and understand these texts.
In some modules, this degree program cooperates with the master’s degree program in Film Studies. Accordingly, you should maintain an interest in such offerings as well.
The Media Dramaturgy program – and the working world beyond the university – welcome an interest in independent work, critical self-reflection, and project-based work.
Please note that studies can only begin in the winter semester. Applications can be submitted from April 1st until May 15th. You can find all information about the degree program in the program profile. More information about the application process can be found on Student Services website.
M.A. thesis topics from the last few years
My friends dance (very good) by Luisa Fauth
Based on videos of her dancing friends, Luisa Fauth experiments with various glitches to reflect on supposed mistakes as jokes, as triggers of nostalgia and as potential interventions. The project was developed in the course of the project seminar Mediendramaturgisches Labor I (WiSe 24-24).
KI plays the same song again by Simona Hube
In a video essay, Simona Hube explores the tension between artificial intelligence and creativity. To what extent do human and machine creation processes differ? And to what extent are they perhaps more similar than it might seem at first glancec The project was developed as part of the project seminar Media Dramaturgical Laboratory I (WiSe 24-24).
What’s the Point? from Noah Hensler
As an audiovisual reflection on the rapid development of LLMs, Noah Hensler juxtaposes two related but very different perspectives: Historical material that attempts to predict the development of the computer age and his own footage documenting automation processes in our everyday lives. The project was developed in the course of the project seminar Mediendramaturgisches Labor I (WiSe 24-24).
This Is Why by Viktoria Schrott
As part of the Media Dramaturgy Lab I project seminar (winter semester 22-23) in the Media Dramaturgy master’s degree program, student Viktoria Schrott developed a project on the topic of sexism. You can watch the teaser for another audiovisual examination here.
