Excellent MSc Dissertations 2023

In this eighth edition of the Excellent MSc Dissertation series, five students present condensed versions of their Master’s theses, completed for the MSc degree in Media and Communication Studies at Lund University. These students presented their dissertations in May 2023 and earned the highest mark. During the Fall of 2023, the dissertations were revised to a shorter length of 14,000 words for publication in the series Förtjänstfulla examensarbeten i medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (FEA). The series was launched by Media and Communication Studies at Lund University in 2008 to increase the visibility and reward high quality student research.

Separately and together, the five contributions in this book exemplify what staff at the Department of Communication and Media consider to comprise an excellent dissertation at the Master’s level. In Chapter 1, L. Leão Alves broadens our understanding of media representation through an analysis of male queer engagement with the popular podcast series My Dad Wrote a Porno. In Chapter 2, Klara Avsec explores the framing and alliance-building strategies of deplatformed far-right activists on Telegram. In Chapter 3, Yunshan Jiang dissects relationships between queer drama series characters and their LGBTQ+ fans through interviews and a poetic analysis of Killing Eve. In Chapter 4, Anna Ledro examines the concept of believability in the Depp v. Heard trial through a content analysis of TikToks and interviews with Gen Z women. In Chapter 5, Mercy Malikwa analyzes the everyday representations and power struggles of female Malawian YouTubers through a document review and production interviews with these content creators.

Our aim in publishing this book is to inspire future students to be inquisitive, innovative, and rigorous in their research projects. The ability to understand the social world is uniquely human, and novel perspectives and cases like the ones included here deftly illustrate our knowledge building capacity.