The master’s programme in Book and Digital Media Studies is taught across two semesters and comprises compulsory courses, elective courses and the writing of an MA thesis.

Semester one

The aim of the first semester is to prepare you for the specialisations that you will choose during your second semester. This part of the programme provides a solid basis and introduction to the field, conceptually, empirically and practically, via a number of compulsory core courses. You also have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge via elective courses.

Semester two

During your second semester you choose between four specialisations:

• History of the Book;
• Publishing Studies;
• Digital Access to Cultural Heritage;
• Digital Text and Data Processing.

The second part of the second semester is spent writing your MA thesis.

The programme offers four specialisations:

Specialisation 1: Digital Access to Cultural Heritage

In Digital Access to Cultural Heritage, you focus on the ways and means of making cultural heritage digitally accessible. In this course, you address such issues as the challenges and possibilities for exhibiting special collections and knowledge domains in knowledge centres. Special emphasis is placed on the interaction between the providers and the users of digital information. We cooperate with the Dutch National Library (KB) in The Hague on this subject.

Specialisation 2: History of the book

In History of the Book, you explore different aspects of the history of textual communication through the medium of the printed word. We study a range of subjects from the role of publishers, booksellers and readers, to the interchange between book and society and developments in the physical appearance of books. You will conduct research using the rich primary sources contained in the special collections of libraries and archives in Leiden and elsewhere, in combination with secondary literature.

Specialisation 3: Publishing Studies

In Publishing Studies, you will look at the wider role and meaning specifically of academic publishing in society. The whole publishing chain is covered, from the work of authors through to the activities of publishing houses to retailers and customers. You will study new trends in publishing arising from the introduction of digital technology.

Specialisation 4: Digital Text and Data Processing

In Digital Text and Data Processing, you will study the history, policies, principles and practice connected to digital text and data processing systems. You will receive hands‑on experience in text techniques and in data visualisation, within the framework of the ongoing evolution of digital technology.

In Digital Text and Data Processing, you will study the history, policies, principles and practice connected to digital text and data processing systems. You will receive hands‑on experience in text techniques and in data visualisation, within the framework of the ongoing evolution of digital technology.

Examples of recent thesis subjects

To get an impression of possible topics, see the recent MA theses listed below.

• Gloria Moorman, Discovering Rome through Joan Blaeu’s Admiranda Urbis Romae: The Creation of the Town Atlas of Rome (Amsterdam, 1663) in the Light of Italian-Dutch Relationships in the Seventeenth Century. Online version.
• Anna Käykö, Digital Representations of the Material: The Medieval Manuscript in the Digital Medium. Online version.
• Sophie Boisvert-Hearn, The Future of the Scholarly Monograph in the Humanities: Open and enhanced.
• Elli Bleeker, On Reading in the Digital Age: Establishing the Paradigms in a Hyperbolical Discussion Online version
• Anastasia Dorofeeva, Towards Digital Humanities Tool Criticism. Online version
• Mirjam Romeijn, Life in Amsterdam at the End World War II: A Selected Edition of the Diary Letters by Kitty Ouwens, 1945. Online version.

• Lectures
• Seminars
• Tutorials
• Self-study
• Internship options
• Excursions
• Workshops

• Examinations
• Essays and reports
• Oral presentations
• MA Thesis and oral defense