Operating simultaneously as cultural institutions and economic industries, modern media constitute a powerful and pervasive force in our society today, impacting what we see, what we hear, what we buy and what we believe, both as individuals and as a society.
The Media, Self and Society program,
sponsored by the Philip Merrill College
of Journalism and established in the fall of 1999, has been designed to
give students the opportunity to analyze the role of media in society and
to gain exposure to their functioning in practical terms. The program thus
has two dimensions: the academic, which encourages students to undertake a
critical examination of media organizations, products and audiences; and the
practical, which enables students to gain hands-on experience through involvement
in media-related activities of their choice.
Since the Program began, Media Scholars
have undertaken a variety of activities such as volunteering at UMTV, the
University's cable television station, working at WMUC, the campus radio station,
analyzing advertising, media content and ethics, producing Unwind,
an arts and entertainment magazine, engaging in video projects, building websites,
writing for the Diamondback and other campus publications, and producing
a number of short documentaries.
In keeping with the tradition of
experiential learning that exemplifies College Park Scholars, the Media, Self
and Society program frequently brings professionals from the field into the
colloquium to give students a real-world perspective on the media, and advice
on pursuing internships and careers. Media students also have the chance to
participate in a variety of field trips and service-learning activities and,
of course, the University of Maryland's proximity to Washington, D.C.,
and Baltimore provides extraordinary opportunities for internships and other
types of active learning.
Through this combination of the academic and the practical, the program hopes to encourage students to become not only better-informed consumers of media products, but when the time comes, more thoughtful practitioners as well.