SCHOOL OF MEDIA COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

A brief statement of the aims and purposes of the School

The School of Media, Communication and Culture aims to be a centre of advanced interdisciplinary research in the field of the social consstruction, dissemination and reception of texts in mass media. The range of such studies is necessarily very large, for mass media cover a great many institutions and practices, and interact with the entire network of social relaitonships. In the Indian context, the study of mass media would thus demand a constant awareness of complex passages from oral to literate, traditional to modern, feudal to bourgeois. The role of the state and the impact of transnational corporations as well as other foreign agencies and institutions also needs attention.

Given such a large scope and interactive field, some specific areas of study have had to be identified. In the case of the School, they are

The role of audio-visual media, especially cinema and television, in the formation and transmission of values.
• The media and cultural practices. Change in the concept of cultural literacy.
• Media in development and modernization.
• The media and politics.
• The media and education
• The media and less empowered groups.
• The media, consumerism and globalization.
• Approaches to media policy

A short history of the School

The School was founded at a meeting held on 24 March 1988 and commenced activities immediately after. Its first projects, funded by the University itself, related to reception and impact of the media on designated sectors of the population of eastern India, especially West Bengal. The School also proceeded to build up a specialized library and archive of documents, clippings and recordings relating tocontemporalry media and culture. Two notable projects were completed by 1992:

1. The Media, Religion and Communalism

2. The History of the Girl Child

Subsequently funded projects came from the Department of Culture, MHRD, Government of India and from the Government fo West Bengal as well as the UGC.
It was decided in the early '90s that the School should provide material and manpower resources to the proposed Department of Film Studies, and should not start any academic course on its own till the latter's needs were met. Accordingly, the School carried on with its research projects and consultancies, and provided support services to other Schools and Departments of the University. In 2000, the Department of Film Studies was provided with separate space and facilities. The School then decided to start its own courses within its area of competence. One such programme is a UGC Refresher Course on 'Folklore and Cultural Tourism', planned for June-July 2001.

Outline of the admin1istrative/academic structure

The School has an admin1istrative Committee chaired by theVice-Chancellor and including the Deans of the three Faculties, the Registrar, the Finance Officer, and two other members besides the Director. The Academic Committee, also chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, has three external members and 15 teachers from all three Faculties of the University.

Contact
Programmes Offered
Infrastructural Facilities
Research
Seminars/Conference

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Address : Room no.A/18, UG Arts Building
Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700 032

2. Telephone no : (033) 483-2352
E-mail address : mediaju@vsnl.net

3. Date of establishment : 1989

4. Built-up area of the School in sq.m. : 110 sq.m.

5. Name of the Director : Prof. Mihir Ranjan Bhattacharya

TOP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Programmes offered by the school

No taught courses. A UGC Refresher course for college teachers on 'Folklore and Cultural Tourism' has been planned (see above) with an intake of 40 participants.
There is one Ph.D. student.

7. To what extent are these programmes employment-oriented?
The UGC course is for college lecturers only, and its subject is clearly employment-oriented in an emerging area.

8. No. of posts:
The School has no permanent posts. Members of faculty from various departments offer voluntary services.
There is one part-time helper on a temporary basis and a Research Associate under a project.

TOP

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Infrastructural facilities

· • Books in the Library of School : approx. 150
· • Journals/periodicals subscribed to by the School: Nil
· • Computers in the School: 1 computer, 1 scanner, 1 printer

basic and advanced facilities

Computer : Pemtium II, 233 Mhz., 10.2 GB HDD, HP 9300 series CD writer
Printer: HP Laserjet 6 MP
Scanner: HP Scanjet 5200C

TOP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Research

· • No. of ongoing research projects, with total outlay in lakhs: 5; Rs.6.37 lakhs
Details of ongoing projects funded by external agencies (including UGC, AICTE, CSIR, DST and other Govt. departments and institutes)

1. Documentation of Tribal Culture in Purulia: Dept. of Culture, Govt. of India: Rs.1.5 lakhs

2. Documentation of Folk Culture in Tea Gardens: Dept. of Culture, Govt. of India: Rs.75,000

3. Women in Media: UGC, Rs.50,000

4. Video Documentation of Rabha Culture: Folk and Tribal Cultural Centre, Govt. of West Bngal: Rs.2 lakhs

Major thrust areas within the subject in which research activities are being pursued.

a. Folk and tribal culture

b. Media studies

c. Cultural history

TOP

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Seminars/conferences

1. Education, Media and Curriculum: Local, 3-4 April 1998

2. Film and Literature: Local, 11-12 May 1998

3. Modernity and Artistic Practice: 4 Sept. 1998

4. Globalisation and Popular Culture: 20-21 Nov. 1998

5. Distance Education and Virtual Institues: Local, 8 Feb. 1999

6. Culture against Unreason: National (in collaboration with Hirendranath Datta      Foundation) : 26-27 March 1999

7. Folk Music and Ethnography: Local, 17 April 1999

8. Rabha Culture of Jalpaiguri: Local, 3 August 1999

9. Language, Ethnicity and Media: Local, 17-18 Dec. 1999

10. Commnication and Nationalism: Local, 13 January 2000

11. Museum and the Moving Image: Local, 3 Feb. 2000

12. Folklore in a Changing World: Local, 30-31 March 2000

13. Communication and Gender Issues: Local, 25 April 2000

14. Bunuel and Modernity in Cinema: National, 7-8 July 2000

15. Globalisation and Television: Local, 30-31 August 2000

16. Post-Structuralism, Social Theory and Culture: 18-19 Dec. 2000

17. Television as Social Practice: 13 January, 2001

TOP