July 2, July 9, July 23, 2021
Online seminars
We are pleased to announce a seminar series called „Teaching Media Development“ which focuses on innovative curricula, creative teaching techniques and networking opportunities for emerging scholars in the field of media development. University teaching is a crucial aspect when it comes to establishing media development as an academic field. Students from BA to PhD level constitute the upcoming generation of journalists, communication researchers or media policy advisers who will shape debates on how to develop media sectors all over the world – be it in media outlets, NGOs, ministries, law offices, research centers, or think tanks. Therefore, it is hugely important to spark students’ interest in questions of media and development and to qualify them to be able to conduct sound analyses thereof. The seminar series attempts to start a conversation about best practices of teaching media development at university level this July. In the long run, it is supposed to contribute to improved academic training of media development experts as professionals who are skilled at thoroughly considering and analyzing local circumstances and developing localized solutions.
Convenors: Ines Drefs, Mira Keßler, Michel Leroy
Location: Zoom. Free and open to all.
This series is organized by MEDAS 21 and the IAMCR Media Sector Development Working Group .
SEMINAR 1: Media development curricula from around the world
Friday, July 2, 20201, 1.00-2.30 pm CEST (7.00-8.30 am New York; 7.00-8.30 pm Manila)
Registration: https://tu-dortmund.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4vmnqzlDTDSKfDWEvTjW6Q
Chair: Ines Drefs (MEDAS 21/Erich Brost Institute)
Confirmed speakers: Joya Chakraborty (Tezpur University), Christoph Dietz (Catholic Media Council), Winston Mano (University of Westminster), viola milton (University of South Africa)
Outline: Efforts aimed at developing the media sector are being discussed in university classrooms all around the world. The related courses are sometimes offered by departments of journalism studies, sometimes by departments of communication and sometimes as part of development studies, oftentimes they are interdisciplinary. What are the implications of where media sector development sits within university structures? What skills do teachers of these courses need to impart to the students and how to make sure these can be localized? Is there a canon of essential literature for students learning about media sector development? If so, what is and what should be in there? These are the guiding questions of this session in which course leaders, university teachers and curators of literature collections present and discuss their approaches.
SEMINAR 2: Creating opportunities for the next generation: speed date with media development PhD students!
Friday, July 9, 20201, 1.00-2.30 pm CEST (7.00-8.30 am New York; 7.00-8.30 pm Manila)
How to apply: Applicants interested in networking with peers should submit a short description (1,000 characters max.) of their research project to michel.leroy@tu-dortmund.de
Deadline for submission: June 21st, 11:59 pm CEST
Chair: Michel Leroy (MEDAS 21/Erich Brost Institute)
Outline: Within the relatively new IAMCR working group focusing on efforts of shaping and developing media systems, early-career scholars sometimes feel isolated or that communication links with professionals in the sector are difficult to establish. The aim of this session is therefore to provide a framework for networking among peers. We invite PhD students working on media development issues to an online “speed-dating session”. It is an opportunity for junior scholars from the “Global North“ and “South“ to network and to meet with practitioners and senior researchers to voice their concerns and challenges such as (but not limited to) choosing a relevant topic, grants and funding issues, access to data and literature. More information on the session: https://www.medas21.net/news/#PhDspeeddate
SEMINAR 3: Creative techniques in classroom and applied training
Friday, July 23, 20201, 1.00-2.30 pm CEST (7.00-8.30 am New York; 7.00-8.30 pm Manila)
Registration: https://tu-dortmund.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bWxky1Q7QZqYSUWx1CqfLw
Chair: Mira Keßler (MEDAS 21/Ruhr University Bochum)
Confirmed speakers: Linje Manyozo (School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia), Saleh Masharqeh (Media Development Center, Birzeit University, Palestine), Martin Scott (School of International Development, University of East Anglia, England) and more
Outline: The training of media development experts must be ahead of its time to meet future challenges. This is not only about technical innovation, big data, and new ways of storytelling. It is also about a creative approach to educational content and teaching methods. Here it is important to note that media development is on the one hand based at a university level; on the other hand, it is based on practical trainings. For this reason, it is our aim to connect scholars with practitioners, if both hearts are not already in one chest. For both realms, creativity means innovation by using imagination and critical thinking. Breaking free from repetition and simple reproduction clears the way for new development and implementation approaches. It is important to us to bring different experts together, different in the sense of different living and working environments, different institutions, and different experiences with their own best practices. Our guiding questions for this multi-disciplinary panel on “creative teaching techniques” are: When and why do we need to be creative for teaching media development? How could this creativity look like?
