Vol. 4, #1, August 2003
Greetings! We hope you have had a pleasant and productive summer. At UMass Boston, we've been working on a number of items. Here's a sampling.
Communication Studies has been fortunate to hire Ellen Hume as a Senior Research Fellow. An accomplished media analyst and journalist (LA Times, Detroit Free Press, Wall Street Journal, CNN, PBS), Ms. Hume will be working with UMB faculty, students, and staff in the conception and planning of a major in Media and Communication Studies and in various other activities associated with the Media and Communication Studies Project. (See below.) You can find out more about Ellen by browsing to www.ellenhume.com. Those of you taking the Seminar this fall will get to know her very well as your professor!
We have begun active discussions and planning toward the creation of a new Major, tentatively titled "Media and Communication Studies." We are putting together an external advisory board featuring accomplished practitioners in journalism and communication, and we have already received considerable support and advice from our internal advisory board (Neal Bruss, English; Linda Dittmar, English; Reebee Garofalo, CPCS Community Media and Technology; Ellen Hume, Communication Studies; Lois Rudnick, American Studies; Mark Schlesinger, Communication Studies; Rusty Simonds, Political Science; and Nancy Stieber, Art). This fall we shall complete a preliminary proposal and submit it to College of Liberal Arts governance. During this process, we shall involve current and former Communication Program students in focus groups and other forms of advice-giving. In the meantime, don't hesitate to contact Mark Schlesinger (mark.schlesinger@umb.edu; 617.287.7754) with any comments or suggestions on the need for a major in Media and Communication Studies and the shape it should take.
Effective this fall, the Communication "Certificate" Program gives way to a "Minor in Communication Studies." You can read the proposal for this evolution on www.commstudies.umb.edu. Briefly, the minor is more focused on communication and media issues, and its implementation is more streamlined. Students complete the minor by taking six courses across categories that are reminiscent of the former program. There will continue to be a "certificate" available through Continuing Education; this program will be available to nonmatriculated students and will be a drastically scaled down version of the former program.
Students who enrolled in the Communication Studies Program prior to June, 2003, have the option of fulfilling the requirements in the former certificate program or meeting the minor's requirements.
The Major is one of a number of ventures we've placed under the umbrella of "MCS Project." As you've no doubt ascertained, "MCS" is an acronym for "Media and Communication Studies." Beyond planning for a major, the MCS project concerns itself with the cultivation of partnerships with UMass and external groups toward the following ends: 1) the furtherance of Communication Studies at UMass Boston; 2) the enhancement of media and communication teaching and learning across the University; 3) the illumination of media and policy issues in our region, through direct teaching and other means such as conferences and workshops on critical issues in media and communication; 4) the promotion of good practice in both the production and the consumption of media. The MCS Project has a special interest in global and ethnic media, which will infuse each of the preceding goals.
Communication Studies has added a course since our last newsletter: ComStu 105, Oral Expression. This course was formerly housed in the English Department as English Z106. A series of negotiations resulted in its transfer to Communication Studies. So far, budget crises notwithstanding, we have managed to run it every semester; we hope to continue to do so.
For a listing of fall courses, go to www.commstudies.umb.edu or www.registrar.umb.edu.
Last year, having just moved to American Studies, we wrote in this space, "It's an exciting time. . . ." We didn't know how exciting things could get. The addition of Ellen Hume, the development of partnerships with helpful individuals and agencies on campus and beyond, the growing support for a major, the creation of a minor, the assumption of responsibility for Oral Expression. . . together, these events say, “We’re on our way!” Now, with the support of students, American Studies and other faculty, Dean Smith, Provost Fonteyn, Chancellor Gora, and many others, we look forward to another year of great progress. Please don't hesitate to join us by offering suggestions and criticism at any time. In the meantime, all good wishes.
Communication Studies
American Studies
Wheatley 5-003
University of Massachusetts Boston
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125-3393
| Mark Schlesinger, Director |
Ellen Hume, Senior Research Fellow |