This volume contains adaptions of four noteworthy master theses written within the international master’s programme in Media, Communication, and Cultural Analysis at Södertörn University and defended in June 2021. Running since 2009, the programme has more than 100 alumni who are employed in the media, academia and education. In 2020, the programme coordinator, together with the programme and department councils, chose to distinguish the best theses in a printed volume. This second volume includes chapters by graduates in 2021, a challenging year by any measure. Nevertheless, the students showed dedication to their subjects and produced high quality essays. 

The contributions cover a broad range of topics: how young, second-generation migrants negotiate belonging though music listening practices; how the classical game of chess is changing through novel forms of community engagement, including live streaming; the future narratives that Facebook and its affiliates have constructed, and finally, how the smart city is narrated as a place of future primitivism, focused on leisure and fun rather than work and duties.