MEDIA AND SOCIETY
1st Year Module in Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree
Course Description: This course takes a critical approach to the study of the role of the media in society. It will take a value-based approach to the production and consumption of mass media, with a special emphasis on the role of media in community building and promoting social harmony. Traditional Asian philosophical approaches to social interaction, governance and stability will be explored and compared with contemporary ideas of the media acting as a democratization tool.
Number of weeks: 12 weeks, 1 semester
Number of Hours per Week: 1 hour lecture and 3 hour seminar / tutorial.
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HUMAN-CENTRED JOURNALISM
1st Year Module in Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree
Course Description: This course takes a humanistic approach to train students in investigative journalism. The main objective is to help them to develop thinking and skills in mindful conceptualizing, researching and writing human-centred journalistic stories. The course will focus on the roles of humanity in the analysis and the practice of complex storytelling. Students will be familiarized with the framework of deep listening and dialogical interviewing techniques, mindful investigative research methods and humanistic interpretation of surveys, as well as different forms of narrative techniques for human-centred journalism.
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Number of weeks: 12 weeks, 1 semester
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Number of Hours per Week: Four hours (Two two-hour classes per week) of a combination of lectures, contemplative workshops and dialogues, seminars, extensive fieldworks, individual assignments and tutorial.
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DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM
Level of Course: Bachelor Level (Tier 3) Final Year Elective of an undergraduate degree in Journalism or Mass Communication.
Course Description: This course is designed to develop specialised reporting skills of a journalism student in reporting issues dealing with various aspects of development. The traditional concept of development itself would be challenged in this course and new ideas examined and explored that are specific to the Asian environment. Traditional Asian wisdom will be considered in the context of developing new paradigms of development reporting. Lecturers are encouraged to source sample story ideas for each week from your own country or the immediate neighbourhood.
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Number of weeks: 12 weeks, 1 semester
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Number of hours per week: 3 hours (1 hour lecture + 2 hour tutorial)
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REPORTING CLIMATIC CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
3rd Year Elective Module in Three-Year Bachelor’s Degreein Journalism or Mass Communication
Course Description: This course is designed to develop deep and broad understanding of sustainable development and climate change as well as its interconnection with institutions especially media. On top of the understanding, the students will be able to cover a story about sustainable development and climate change in compelling and educational fashion.
Number of weeks: 12 weeks, 1 semester
Number of hours per week: 3 hours (1 hour lecture + 2 hour tutorial or seminar discussion)
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COMMUNICATION RESEARCH
Elective Module in Three-Year Bachelor Degree
or First Semester Module for a Master Degree
Course Description: Mass Communication theories we use in tertiary institutions across Asia is heavily, if not exclusively, drawn from western sources, especially American. Most Asian scholars believe that they need to master these theories to be considered as experts in the field and often uncritically quote extensively from these. Thus, to breed a new generation of Asian communication scholars who are willing to challenge this notion, they need to be gradually weaned away from that mindset. It is for this reason that this advanced level communication theory curriculum is presented that will critique the existing communication theories and examine and explore traditional Asian philosophical thinking to develop new communication theories. To do this, it is necessary to encourage field research rather than mere literacy surveys and philosophical discussions. Thus there will be no weekly sessions, but the course will extend through the semester with regular seminars and fieldwork. The seminars would be of 3-4 hours duration and may consist of a panel of speakers or the lecture presenting a short lecture and followed by screening of videos such as ‘Ted Talks’. First two weeks will be a critique of existing communication theories followed by two more weeks of examining Asian philosophical ideas and traditional methods of communication and then proceed to compose and present ideas for research to develop possible Asia-focused communication theories. Second half of the semester will be spent in researching and compiling a research report on Asian-focused communication theory to be presented to a seminar in the final week of semester. This module will have no exam and the student will be graded on the final presentation of a research paper to given specifications.
Number of Hours per Week: This module will be organized in seminar/workshop sessions as explained in the course schedule. Each seminar session will be either half-day (4 hours) or full day (7 hours) in duration. The session may not be held weekly.
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MINDFUL FEATURE WRITING
Bachelor Level Final Year Special Project/Elective of an
undergraduate degree in Journalism or Mass Communication
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Course Description: The general news reporting techniques of who said what to whom and where and how could create news reports that lacks context and worse sensationalized for entertainment rather than information. Writing features is an art that go beyond mere reporting the above to deeper analysis and context. Thus it needs development of good research and analytical skills, including deep listening and the ability to think in order to analyze. In this course we introduce the added dimensions of mindfulness principles to news reporting and feature writing. This course incorporates elements of the Development Reporting and Human-Centric Reporting modules, but, with a more practical oriented approach to teaching/training. Students will be able to do features for print as well as for online media.
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Mode: A series of 2-3 hour seminar style workshops followed by field-work and feature production.
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Number of weeks: Semester long 12-14 weeks module
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Specialised Reporting Workshop
SUFFICIENCY ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS REPORTING
Bachelor Level Final Year Special Project/Elective of an undergraduate degree in Journalism or Mass Communication.
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Workshop Description: This half-day workshop is designed to introduce the students to the principles and concepts of Sufficiency Economics theory and its applications with a special emphasis on Thailand. In looking at its applications the Grameen Bank model and investing in Social Business ventures will also be explored.This workshop could be incorporated into specialized reporting electives such as Development Reporting or Economic-Business Reporting or Human-Centric Reporting modules or it could be a final year specialist reporting project.
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Mode: Seminar style workshops.
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Number of weeks: Half-Day (4 hour) workshop followed by a reporting project
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Specialised Reporting Workshop
REPORTING FOR COMMUNITY RADIO
Bachelor Level Final Year Special Project/Elective of an undergraduate degree
in Journalism or Mass Communication
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Course Description: The commercialization of the media across the globe has created a counter movement for community media, especially in radio, which is the most accessible media for poor and marginalized populations. The aim of this course is to demonstrate and teach to students – who already know how to produce radio contents/programs – to produce radio news features of a non-commercial nature produced in a people-centric fashion using participatory communication methodology to produce such material. This workshop could be incorporated into specialized reporting electives such as Development Reporting or Human-Centric Reporting modules or it could be a final year specialist reporting project, especially for those who have learned radio modules.
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Mode: Seminar style workshops.
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Number of weeks: Half-Day (4 hour) workshop followed by a reporting project or research paper
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MINDFUL FEATURE WRITING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Bachelor Level Final Year Special Project
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Course Description: The general news reporting techniques of who said what to whom and where and how could create news reports that lacks context and worse sensationalized for entertainment rather than information. Writing features is an art that go beyond mere reporting the above to deeper analysis and context. When addressing issues of Sustainable Development this is an essential element of news reporting and feature writing. Thus it needs development of good research and analytical skills, including deep listening and the ability to think in order to analyze. In the series of workshops we also introduce the added dimensions of mindfulness principles to news reporting and feature writing. This course incorporates elements of the Development Reporting and Human-Centric Reporting modules, but, with a more practical oriented approach to teaching/training.
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Mode: A series of 3-4 hour (half day) seminar style workshops followed by field-work and feature writing/production.
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