Questions concerning the impact of ideological and symbolic processes on the formation of political discourses, identities and communities are of crucial importance. All of these are covered within the University of Essex MA Ideology and Discourse Analysis. Students explore topics including: poststructuralist, post-Marxist and psychoanalytic theories of ideology and discourse; research methods in critical political theory and analysis; key concepts for political analysis; mass media and democracy; philosophy of social science.

Essex’s Department of Government is one of the most prestigious in Europe, with an outstanding record of teaching, research and publication. They are rated top in the UK for research, and have consistently been the highest-rated politics department in the country since national assessments began.