A quick reflection on Period 2

A quick reflection on Period 2

A quick reflection on Period 2 The ending of the 2nd period of our master programme is close. As the 1st period, this period also passed very quickly! The two courses we had are Design Thinking & Maker Culture and Machines of Knowledge. Different material, different approaches, yet both of them intriguing and interesting. Design Thinking & Maker Culture introduces us to an alternative research method, a more human-centred one, which I enjoyed a lot. Therefore, I was thinking if possible to start a whole new digital project from the scratch following all the steps (and their iteration) to create it. An idea is to take advantage of the WordPress skills we learnt in the 1st period and create a website. I noticed that our master doesn't have a 100% independent website, apart from this blog: MA Media Studies: Digital Cultures – Maastricht University. I believe that creating a new website for our MA through a Design Thinking and user-centred design approach,...
Read More
A first recap!

A first recap!

A first recap! The first period of our master is almost done. Time can fly. During this period, we had to follow two courses, Transformations in Digital Cultures and Real Virtualities. The first course provided an introduction to the digital world, such as digital cultures, digital sociology, social media and user practices, using Digital Ethnography and Qualitative Interviewing as research methods. The second focused on the changing relationship between the “real” and the “virtual”, by introducing us to phenomenology as a philosophical study and research approach. Both courses had fascinating, qualitative research methods, but the one I enjoyed most was the qualitative interview and its analysis. It is always amazing to talk to people and try to get into their lives and thought as a way to contribute to something bigger. I found myself enjoying Transformations in Digital Cultures, and more specifically the fact that offered a holistic view about what is social in digital media and the variety of forms...
Read More
Creating an academic blog

Creating an academic blog

Creating an academic blog A part of our first course in the master programme, Transformations in Digital Cultures, was to create our own academic blog. The goal is to update this blog regularly and share our new knowledge and experience from the master programme throughout the year, as to finally own an online portfolio, ready to be presented to potential employees and not only. The software used is WordPress, one of the most popular content management systems. Maastricht University offered us a variety of themes to choose from, based on our aesthetic, and our tutor, Costas Papadopoulos, introduced us to the dashboard, its functions and show us how we can build our blog. It took me a lot of time to choose my theme as I wanted something minimal, that I could customize. Many themes although well-structured and elegant, didn’t seem to fit the academic style I was looking for. The theme that I finally choose is called Square by HashThemes, and...
Read More
A new journey began!

A new journey began!

A new journey began! The first month of my journey to explore the world of Digital Cultures has already finished. As I did my Premaster programme at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Maastricht University last year, it was not the first time finding myself in the faculty’s building, interacting with fellow students and tutors. However, things are not the same both due to Covid-19 that has changed fundamentally the way of learning and to the fact that now we are part of the Master Programme, with students sharing the same passion regarding Digital Media and Cultures. To begin with, some courses are online and some offline this year. The offline courses offer us a way to meet each other and interact in the class, which makes it easier to place ourselves, when necessary, in front of a screen exchanging opinions and discussing the reading material. How weird could it be if we haven’t met anyone before? Without a doubt,...
Read More