media studies research uva

Media Studies

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Media and Culture

Media and Information

New Media and Digital Culture (Media Studies)

Film Studies (Media Studies)

Television and Cross-Media Culture (Media Studies)

Archival and Information Studies (Media Studies)

Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image (Media Studies)

Media Studies (Research)

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Media Studies

Media Studies focusses on subjects such as media-archaeology, the creative industry, the creative city, datafication, digital methods, and information analysis. The UvA offers two study programmes: Media and Culture, and Media and Information.

Here you can find relevant information for Media Studies students and staff.

If you have any questions, please contact: [email protected] . 

Media Studies:

• All databases
• Bibliographies
• Encyclopedias 
• Reference works
• New arrivals (books)

Related disciplines:

• Archival Science
• Book Studies 
• Communication Science
• Computer Science

All disciplines - databases by type:

• Book collections
• Encyclopedias
• Primary sources
• Journals  (search by title or ISSN)
• Journal collections
• Dictionaries

The collection Media Studies can be found in the  P.C. Hoofthuis Library en Library Learning Center .

Description

The UvA library holds a lot of material relevant to Media Studies and they can be found across several locations. Parts of this collection are of such a magnitude that they qualify as research collections. With hundreds of new books annually the Media Studies source material is continuously expanding. Furthermore, the library offers access to countless full text scientific articles, relevant databases, and electronic journals. The library also still holds a few subscriptions to print journals.

The discipline of Media Studies examines a wide range of subjects from both a disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective. Some areas of focus are new: New Media and Digital Culture, Comparative Media Studies, Journalism and Media, Cultural Information Science, and Digital Humanities. Materials pertaining to certain areas have traditionally been accumulated making for a vast collection; these include theory formation concerning film and audio-visual media, and the analyses of picture and publications concerning directors, actors, and producers that shaped the landscape.

Electronic Sources

The library offers access to electronic sources relevant to Media Studies. These include millions of articles, a growing number of e-books, journals, and discipline specific files. The source materials can be found by searching  in  CataloguePlus , through the Database-selector, or via the tab ‘E-journals’. If an electronic publication is available within the UvA one is usually only a few clicks away from the full text.

Open Shelving System

The literature in the open shelving system relevant to Media Studies has been organised according to the  Library of Congress Classification  (LCC).  Some of the categories important to Media Studies include:

De  Outline LCC for Media Studies  offers a comprehensive overview.

Printed sources in the repository

In order to create space for new acquisitions materials that are used less frequently are moved from the open shelving system to the library’s repository (Book depot, IWO).  This applies to older books and older journal issues. These sources can be requested with the use of a valid library card. 

Rika Theo  provides library support for students and staff of the Media Studies department. Students and staff can contact her ( [email protected] ) for:

Individual assistance

Students working on assignments (paper, thesis), professors teaching courses or researchers working on projects (articles, PhD-thesis) may at all times contact the Subject Librarian if they need help with any of the following:

• purchase suggestions,
• search skills,
• citation tools  and citation styles,
• Online access troubleshooting,
• Open Access  and copyright.

All workshops aim to develop information literacy skills within an academic environment. The instructions are tailored to subjects relevant to the study program and the participants' knowledge level (BA, MA, PhD, staff). Topics of the workshop:

• Search terms, techniques, and strategies for academic research,
• Searching CataloguePlus and Library Collection effectively,
• Finding publications on a specific topic,
• Evaluating information,
• citation tools  and citation styles.

Other information

The short tutorial for students on searching academic sources and citation management is available on Canvas:  Finding Academic Resources for Media Studies (uva.nl) .

Information Specialist Media Studies

[email protected] +31 (0)20 525 1405

Media scientists usually work with audio visual sources, texts, or (un)structured data. Data can be derived from existing collections. The research currently taking place in the Netherlands and the data that is collected for these projects can be found on  NARCIS .

While you can collect data yourself, the access to source materials such as online audio, newspapers, or  social media content  is usually copyright protected and the materials can be located in several storage places.

The data will usually be studied from different perspectives. The context in which the data are produced, disseminated, and observed is critical for research into the construction, dissemination, and reception of specific social or cultural phenomenon, see for example  CREATE .

Managing Digital Data

With Research Data Management (RDM) you ensure that your data remains locatable, accessible, and understandable during your research, as well as after your research has been completed. Furthermore, you provide documentation on, for example, how the data was collated, adjusted, enriched, or in any way edited, so that it can be used for network, topic, or prediction analyses.  You also justify the presentation tools, such as  Gephi , because your research will not always result in a book or article; it could result in a  3D reconstruction  or a database such as  Cinema Context .

A well executed RDM allows for means of examining the work and enhances the research’s integrity, and impact. The FGw has its own  Research Data Management Protocol .  Furthermore, the Research school for Media Studies offers a manual specifically for MA students, i.e.,  Academic Integrity in Media Studies .

Data Management Plan

A prominent part of managing research data is the Data Management Plan (DMP). The DMP names all aspects of data management for conducting and finishing research. Other institutions apart from the UvA, such as the KNAW, NOW, and ERC, set their own requirements for managing data and offer their own DMP.

You cannot immediately record all that happens in a research project. This is especially the case when several people are involved in collecting and editing data because it involves frequently making new agreements.

Metadata are an important element in RDM. They are indispensable when describing and or enriching data and data files, and when researching different source materials together. Of course one is free in their choice of metadata. It is preferred however, when possible, to use standards within the field, such as GIS coordinates.

Due to the specific nature of audio visual material there are additional measures in place to search through them on a larger scale. These measures involve matching the material to a description of the content and some of its contextual details (metadata, subtitle file), and on the other hand it involves using new technology such as speech recognition in order to automatically generate a transcript or image recognition.

If everything goes smoothly you might just be in need of storage capacity. Since September 2017 all UvA and AUAS researchers have access to UvA/AUAS figshare where you can securely save your DPM, your schedule, the data and the edited data, the used tools, and the accompanying documents. Each faculty has appointed a  data steward  to help you with UvA/AUAS figshare.

Naturally you are also free to use other storage capacities. There are several UvA communities, such as the Amsterdam Centre for the Study of the Golden Age, that have their own storage capacities, and SURF offers storage on their SURFdrive.

Upon completing your research you can archive your data (files), or a representative selection thereof. Doing so has its advantages: the data can be made available for future research, teaching purposes, and peer review. Sealed datasets can be archived in  DANS Easy , the most important data archive in the Netherlands for the Humanities. Other data archives, such as  Fine Arts, Music, Theatre and Media Studies , can be found via  Archiving .

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Department of Media Studies

Major requirements.

The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only.  The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found at  http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/index.php .

The bulk of your major must be completed in the Media Studies Department.  You are allowed to take any practice of media course on our list. Your 4000 level course is a capstone course and must be a Media Studies course taught by a member of our faculty. For your remaining 6 electives, 4 must be Media Studies courses, taught by a member of our faculty. The remaining two courses may be study abroad or courses from other departments at UVA. All courses from outside the department must be on our approved lists  or approved by the Director of Undergraduate Programs prior to being accepted toward the major. Please see the Course Offerings and/or Transfer courses for information regarding course approval.

• MDST 3050  (pre-req MDST 2000)
• One (1) Practice of Media Course  from  approved list.   Only one (1) Practice of Media course may be applied toward the major.

Seven(7) MDST electives  at the 3000-level or above (3 or more credits per course) with at least:      -  one (1) MDST Capstone course . The MDST capstone course is an intensive seminar intended for fourth-year MDST majors.  The course is limited to 20 students. The final assignment in the course will entail a rigorous research project (scholarly or creative), minimum 15 pages or equivalent.  This course is offered at the 4000 level and must be an MDST mneumonic and taught by Media Studies faculty.      -  one (1) Diversity and Identity Course  from an  approved list      -  one (1) Non-U.S. Media Course  from an  approved list

Academic Standards : Students are expected to maintain a 2.000 Cumulative GPA per university policy, an average GPA of 2.500 for all courses applied towards the major, and a 2.300 minimum grade for each MDST course. Students who are unable to maintain these academic standards will be put on probation by the Media Studies department for one semester. Students who are not able to raise their grade point averages in the subsequent semester will be asked to leave the major.

Transfer Students : Students transferring to UVA and interested in pursuing the Media Studies major must complete MDST 2000 in their first fall semester at UVA. Exceptions made only at the discretion of the Director of Undergraduate Programs.

Media Studies students are strongly urged to choose the balance of their MDST courses according to an individual plan of study. Students should consider the broad range of topics relevant to a full understanding of media studies: media aesthetics (rhetoric and the shape of argument in media, formal analysis, media criticism, and theory of a specific medium); the history of media (film, photography, television, digital, and print media); the experience of media (sociology); the social experience and effects of media (political science and government, law, or public policy, ethics, anthropology, and sociology); and the economics and business of media.

Media Studies Declaration:   Here  is a sample of a completed declaration form, demonstrating an understanding of the courses needed to complete the requirements.

Media Studies

• Books and Journals
• Film and TV
• Streaming Video

UVa Video Holdings

The Robertson Media Center video collection is located on the fourth floor of Clemons Library. Videos can be checked out by faculty, students, and staff for a week at a time.

See the Video and Media Resources Guide for a complete description of UVa-owned video content.

Resources around the Internet

• AFI Catalog The catalog of the American Film Institute is a filmographic resource providing detail on every feature-length film produced in America or financed by American production companies. Click on "Display Movie Details" within a film's catalog record to access notes and bibliographic information.
• Film Studies for Free Privately maintained film blog of "examples of, links to, and comment on, online, Open Access, film and moving image studies resources of note."
• Hulu Streaming television series and movie content.
• Internet Movie Database
• << Previous: Books and Journals
• Next: Streaming Video >>
• Last Updated: Mar 14, 2024 1:14 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.virginia.edu/mediastudies
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Eminent cancer physician-scientist joins Virginia Tech to lead research in Washington, D.C.

Christopher Hourigan will spearhead innovative cancer solutions at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center in the nation's capital.

John Pastor

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A globally recognized physician-scientist who studies and treats blood cancer is joining Virginia Tech to lead cancer research in Washington, D.C., said Michael Friedlander, Virginia Tech’s vice president for health sciences and technology and executive director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.

Christopher Hourigan , a senior investigator and chief of the Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies at the National Institutes of Health, will join Virginia Tech as a professor with the institute and director of its Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C.

“Dr. Hourigan exemplifies the prototype of a physician-scientist, integrating insights from his patient interactions directly into his fundamental and translational laboratory research,” Friedlander said. “We are extremely enthusiastic to have him join Virginia Tech and become a member of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute team to take on this important new leadership role for our growing cancer research programs in Washington, D.C., and to further strengthen our collaborations with Carilion Clinic, Children’s National Hospital, and other health systems and universities.

The focus of the research effort, known as Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center - D.C., is to bring basic, translational, clinical, and computational researchers together in the nation’s capital to focus on the shared aim of engineering cancer solutions. 

“Convening top talent like Dr. Hourigan and developing deep and diverse partnerships are key to solving our most complex global challenges,” said Virginia Tech President Tim Sands. “It’s exciting to see our vision for the university advancing across the commonwealth and in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area.” 

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“I also anticipate the innovations and insights that will emerge from Dr. Hourigan and the other Virginia Tech scientists in D.C. collaborating with the institute's cancer research teams in Roanoke as well as with our computer science and engineering colleagues at Virginia Tech’s new Innovation Campus in Alexandria,” Friedlander said.

Research will involve diverse, expert teams and national and international collaborations.

“We have the opportunity to build a new cancer research center from the ground up, focusing on getting talented and highly motivated teams working in innovative new ways to reduce the burden of suffering from cancer in the United States,” Hourigan said. “It's clear we're not doing well enough for people who are dealing with cancer, and this is our chance to come up with new ways to do better.”

The addition of Hourigan will accelerate the university’s initiatives in Washington, D.C. Newly renovated research facilities on the site of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus already house Fralin Biomedical Research Institute cancer research scientists Jia-Ray Yu and Kathleen Mulvaney , along with teams of researchers from the Center for Genetic Medicine Research and Rare Disease Institute of Children’s National Hospital.

Precise answers to hard questions

Hourigan’s research focuses on a high-risk form of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia, which annually affects about 20,000 Americans. He looks at reasons for why some people survive cancer while others end up dying, even though initially they seem to have had the same response to treatment.

“The person who's newly diagnosed with cancer and has gone through treatment will ask a reasonable question, ‘Well, what about me? I want to know what my actual likelihood of surviving is going to be and are you sure I don’t need more or different treatment?’” Hourigan said. “As an oncologist, those are often hard questions to answer. You have a lot of empathy with the person in front of you and wish we could give better, more personalized, answers. We're strongly focused on the idea that if we had better diagnostic tools to allow a precision medicine approach, we could give doctors and patients a better understanding of exactly where they are now and what’s the best thing for them to do next.”

In addition to his primary appointment with the institute, Hourigan will be a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine .

Hourigan received his medical degree and research doctorates from Oxford University and completed residency and oncology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was subsequently a practicing physician on the acute leukemia service and faculty member. He is board certified in hematology and medical oncology.

Prior to joining Virginia Tech, Hourigan was a senior investigator, co-director of the Myeloid Malignancies Program, and chief of the Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies at the National Institutes of Health. 

He was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the National Institutes of Health Director’s Challenge Innovation Award, and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. He is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Royal College of Physicians.

He looks forward to the task ahead. 

“Virginia Tech has some key strategic advantages,” Hourigan said. “It is nationally known for engineering and computational science, which are going to be increasingly important components of cancer research. I think there's also this sense of energy, innovation, engineering, and teams working across disciplines on hard problems here. And cancer is a hard problem.”

Ultimately, he wants to put cancer researchers out of business.

“I don't want there to be a need for cancer research anymore, whether that happens in my lifetime or the lifetimes of those individuals I train,” Hourigan said.  “The ultimate objective is not to have an industry of cancer research. Our focus has to be on the patient and on working hard to come up with real solutions to hard problems. It is only with research that we’ll be able to do better with cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment tomorrow than we currently can today. We need to have a sense of urgency and purpose because people are counting on us to come up with answers.”

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