A British Affair: Media Studies at the LSE

I’ve been studying abroad for the past three months, so I thought I’d give you a little peek inside my current 3-week program at the London School of Economics. Tomorrow, I'll be starting the final week of my course in “Global Communications, Citizens and Cultural Politics” with professors Shakuntala Banaji and Myria Georgiou (who, by the way, are incredibly passionate and friendly).


This course has been really useful in reaffirming my choice to major in Media Studies, Journalism and Digital Arts at SMC, as well as in helping me decide if I want to pursue my graduate studies at the LSE - but the most valuable thing that I have taken away from this course (since I have encountered a fair deal of opposition to studying media) is the conviction that despite what some critics may say, media is an important field of study that is very much worth researching and discussing. Gabbi Hall, a media major at SMC and one of my blogger role models, also talks about the usefulness and intensity of the major here and here. 


But back to the session in London! Most days, I have lectures from 10.00 - 13.00 which consists of introductions to new topics (for example, "Politicians, Politics and the Media in a Time of Global Communication"), guest lecturers and sometimes videos. In the afternoon, we attend a seminar to discuss the day's assigned reading for an hour and engage in practical activities that relate to the lecture. My favorite activity followed a lecture on how young people use the internet to promote social or political campaigns, and the task we were given during the seminar was to choose a real cause to promote, determine our target audience and devise a strategy integrating online and offline tactics in order to achieve our objectives with regards to the cause. 


A great aspect of this program is the fantastically diverse range of educational/cultural backgrounds and ages amongst the students - for example, I normally sit between an Italian and an Austrian during my lectures, and though there are some undergraduates, most students have already completed their first degree and are either working on their masters or have established themselves as a professionals. This diversity really adds to the variety of perspectives during our debates. 


In my next post, I'll be writing more about the social aspects of my time in London and all of the fun/cultural events I've been able to attend - and I absolutely promise to upload some photos!