“The anthropologist arrives in the city on foot, the sociologist by car and via the main highway, the communications specialist by plane” (Garcia Canclini, 1995).
Media studies scholars have been criticized in the past for being elitist, detached, even corrupt for celebrating American (global?) popular culture. The course Media & Globalization is a critical intervention in academic discourse by highlighting the social, political, cultural, and ultimately moral relevance of understanding the media’s role in processes of globalization. According to bestsellers, communication technologies are key to the “death of distance” and the “flattening” of the world. But this course stresses that the media are enabling and disabling, they include and exclude; the mediated “global village” is not open to all. Media & Globalization is then global in scope (we study CNN news, American Idol, Benetton print ads, Korean soaps) yet simultaneously local, if not always-already personal (we ask ourselves, “How do I contact my relatives abroad? How did I react to the tsunami disaster? When do I feel Othered?”). The aim is to enable students to critically evaluate the media’s capacity to make visible distant others as well as recognize their own duty to be responsible consumers and producers in today’s world.
This elective, on its second year, emphasizes both theoretical and creative work, and welcomes students from all tracks/courses, especially those who are active media users/pop culture fans. Exciting plans for MAG 2.0 include a visit to GMA Network, dialogue with renowned journalists and advertisers, a student-run version of MediaTalk@admu, and a guest lecture from a Pakistani journalist. The course is designed and taught by Jonathan C. Ong, who will arrive from Cambridge by plane.
2 comments:
Hello Sir!
As I cannot find your email, I have resorted to the shameless act of blogsearch-ing you. Anywho, I am Xela Avilla and I really want to take your Media and Globalization class. However, the unfortunate electronic lottery gave me a random number of 407 and your class was already closed by the time I was allowed to enlist.
So, is there any way that you can buffer me for the class? Thanks!
Xela Avilla
xam.avilla@gmail.
Hello, Xela! I'll fix the classroom problem when I arrive this Friday.
Do see me next Tuesday or Wednesday so that I can sign you in. I did promise other students as well that I'll sign them in. We'll try to look for a bigger classroom na lang. I don't get why they capped the class at 15 students anyway! (Please tell others who might be interested)
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