Language, Culture and Globalization

This course is part of the BA Online Culture: Art, Media and Society or the MA Online Culture at Tilburg University. Click on the link for more info on the courses and the programme.

In this international program Online Culture: Art, Media and Society (Culture Studies) the focus is on digital culture and (new) media. From disciplines such as cultural studies and media studies you study how digitalization and globalization influence our way of living. You discuss new ways of communication, art expressions as well as (social) media expressions like memes and trolls. You research how such ways of communication and expressions are established and how they manifest in, and have influence on a society that increasingly takes place online. Additionally, you actively contribute to digital culture by writing papers and opinion pieces for our own online platform Diggit Magazine.

people using their laptops at a coffee shop

‘Are You on Corntok?’ - How TikTok Creates Global Communities and Threatens Local Ones

Paper

Linsey van Kuijk

24/11/2023

8 minutes to read

Personalized content and algorithms are taking over the online world, tailoring content to our interests. However, this may be harming our offline relationships.

Bandersnatch: You Make The Call, Right?

Paper

Wulan Bekker

24/05/2023

11 minutes to read

This paper examines the ways in which Bandersnatch and in specific its interactive function is a response to our post-digital way of living.

“We Gon’ be Alright!” Kendrick Lamar: a medium to influence Social and Political Activism

Paper

Wessel Joosten

17/04/2023

19 minutes to read

This article engages with Kendrick Lamar’s career and how he interplants other voices in the black struggle to formulate a new one by analyzing a handful of songs on Kendrick Lamar’s studio albums.

Friends: From progressive for its time to failing to age well

Paper

Daisy van Belzen

09/01/2023

13 minutes to read

Does a show from the 90s have a place in our current culture, or has it become too culturally outdated? This study aims to show how a contemporary audience deals with an older cultural expression.

The view on the rooftops of the old town in Tallinn, Estonia

‘Onions’ among Estonians: Cultural diversity in the country of startups

Paper

Kalie Roost

11/07/2022

19 minutes to read

This paper is about cultural diversity in Estonia - a country in northern Europe, where two different languages live together. While the Estonian language is national, a significant amount of citizens speak Russian.

The Beatles and Globalization in the Sixties

Paper

Mariska van Schijndel

Rosalie Vaarten

k.raaijmakers@uvt.nl Raaijmakers

Aniek van den Brandt

Naomi Dominicus

15/04/2022

28 minutes to read

This paper discusses how The Beatles contributed greatly to changes in global youth culture worldwide in the 1960's.

Crystals and Detox Juices: How Wellness Culture Keeps Us Sick

Article

Michelle Saris

01/03/2023

12 minutes to read

Burning sage, cleansing your energy with crystals, and meditation retreats; all are examples of the so-called movement of wellness culture which spread through social media. But is it actually making us healthier, or is it maybe keeping us sick?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortéz in her TAX THE RICH dress at the Met Gala 2021

TAX THE RICH: mainstreaming in political discourses online

Article

Ruben den Boer

24/12/2021

13 minutes to read

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s TAX THE RICH dress was a treat for political meme creators around the world. But the memes did more than just give us a chuckle. They made us talk about American politics, socialism, and anti-capitalism. How?