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This term, students in two visual and material cultures studies (VMCS) classes taught by Dr. Lauren Beck — Intro to Visual Culture (VMCS 1201) and Food Matters (VMCS 2121) — were tasked with capstone projects that were different than the norm. Students were asked to create posts for TikTok aimed at prospective students, the campus, and wider communities to generate interest in VMCS. 

“Students were asked to provide examples of the sorts of learning and research opportunities that were available in VMCS and to experiment with creating viral TikToks,” says Beck. 

Two master classes were led by a social media influencer, Désirée Worrall-Bélanger, who taught students how to professionalize social media posting and the importance of designing posts that will connect with the audience.  

Students sent in three concepts for their TikToks alongside sources of inspiration. They developed two of those concepts into fully fleshed-out posts complete with video footage and graphics, scripts, and a technical plan for completing the finished posts. At the end, students completed two polished posts along with a caption and relevant tags for connecting the post with broader groups.

Beck says this sort of learning is designed to develop students’ skills in building brand awareness, using common tools to create high-quality products, market research, graphic design, and creating professional content. 

Third-year Fine Arts student Dawn Purchase is minoring in VMCS and took the Food Matters course this term. She says the TikTok project was a great opportunity to get out on campus and make something creative that will be put to good use.  

“Sometimes projects can feel like unseen work, so it was super rewarding to make a project that would be shown [on social media],” she says.  

Purchase says VMCS has complemented her artistic practice in Fine Arts.

“My own artistic practice is predominantly sculpture based and relies heavily on experience," says Purchase. "In VMCS I've been able to explore fibre arts, which complement my art skills, while also gaining more cultural knowledge and critical thinking skills. I like knowing how visual language and material practices work in society because it helps inform my art but also gives me skills for entrepreneurship.”

VMCS prepares students for careers in marketing and communications, the cultural industries, library and information sciences, education, and increasingly has drawn interest from students studying in aviation and commerce. There are applied opportunities in many courses in the areas of policy research and analysis, data collection and project management, visual literacy, archeology, social media professionalization, professional writing, marketing and communications, graphic design, and much more!

To check out the final projects, visit @place.identity.pro and @vmcs_mta on TikTok. Read more about Visual and Material Culture Studies at .