Journalism, Media, and Public Discourse
Eleanor Townsley, Nexus director, track chair
Katie Walker, coordinator
108 Daniel L. Jones Building
413-538-3010
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/academics/find-your-program/journalism-media-and-public-discourse
Overview and Contact Information
Many departments, including English, history, sociology, and politics, offer hands-on and theory-based courses in journalism and public media. Students learn to examine the world with an educated, critical eye; to collect material from a wide range of sources; and to analyze and communicate information clearly and concisely. MHC’s approach reflects the reality of the job market: employers in journalism and media want students who are knowledgeable and articulate across a wide array of subjects in the liberal arts, who are creative, flexible thinkers with superior writing and analytical capabilities. The Nexus in Journalism, Media, and Public Discourse encourages students to explore journalism and media through many venues. In the classroom, students can fact-check a news story, examine the history of The New York Times, or analyze the role of media in contemporary society.
Faculty
This area of study is administered by the following Nexus track chairs:
Eleanor Townsley, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Sociology; Director of Nexus
Hannah Goodwin, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies
Requirements for the Nexus
A minimum of 18 credits:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Four courses chosen from the list of courses approved for this Nexus or selected with approval of the track chair | 16 | |
At least one course at the 300 level | ||
At least one course at the 200 level or above | ||
One course at the 100 level or above 1 | ||
| A substantive summer internship 2 | ||
| COLL-211 | Reflecting Back: Connecting Internship and Research to Your Liberal Arts Education | 2 |
| A presentation at LEAP Symposium | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
- 1
Only one course at the 100 level is permitted to count toward the Nexus.
- 2
The summer internship must meet College requirements for a substantial educational experience: At least 200 work hours and responsibilities that exercise ability to think analytically and creatively, and contribute meaningfully to the organization’s stated mission and complements the student's area of focus.
Additional Specifications
-
Students will schedule an advising meeting with a track chair to get approval and complete an online Plan of Study form to be returned to the Nexus Program office.
- The sequence of a Nexus is part of what makes it unique:
-
In preparation for the summer internship or research, students complete courses chosen in consultation with the track chair. If seeking funding through LYNK UAF, students will additionally complete orientation and advising, and online training.
- COLL-211 is taken after the internship or research project and culminates in a presentation at LEAP Symposium.
-
Courses Counting toward the Nexus
Courses other than those listed below may count toward the Nexus. Students are invited to consult the Nexus track chair for consideration of courses not on the list.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropology | ||
| ANTHR-221 | Anthropology of Media | 4 |
| ANTHR-230 | Language in Culture and Society | 4 |
| ANTHR-352 | Digital Cultures | 4 |
| Art History | ||
| ARTH-242 | History of Photography: The First Hundred Years | 4 |
| Asian Studies | ||
| ASIAN-215 | Androgyny and Gender Negotiation in Contemporary Chinese Women's Theater | 4 |
| College(Interdeptmnt) Courses | ||
| COLL-211 | Reflecting Back: Connecting Internship and Research to Your Liberal Arts Education | 2 |
| Critical Race & Political Econ | ||
| CRPE-228 | Visualizing Immigrant Narratives: Migration in Film | 4 |
| CRPE-240LF | Intermediate Topics: 'Latinas in Film' | 4 |
| English | ||
| ENGL-219BC | Topics in Creative Writing: 'Building Literary Community' | 4 |
| ENGL-219CH | Topics in Creative Writing: 'Climate Changes Everything: Telling Stories at the End of the World As We Know It' | 4 |
| ENGL-325 | Victorian Literature and Visual Culture | 4 |
| ENGL-349 | Cosmopolitanism | 4 |
| ENGL-361TR | Advanced Creative Writing Topics: 'Introduction to Literary Translation' | 4 |
| Film Media Theater | ||
| FMT-102 | Introduction to Film Studies | 4 |
| FMT-104 | Introduction to Media Studies | 4 |
| FMT-230AM | Intermediate Courses in History and Theory: 'Anthropology of Media' | 4 |
| FMT-230CH | Intermediate Courses in History and Theory: 'Contemporary Chinese Media Culture' | 4 |
| FMT-230CW | Intermediate Courses in History and Theory: 'Androgyny and Gender Negotiation in Contemporary Chinese Women's Theater' | 4 |
| FMT-230NC | Intermediate Courses in History and Theory: 'Social Media: Networked Cultures' | 4 |
| FMT-230TV | Intermediate Courses in History and Theory: 'History of U.S. Television' | 4 |
| FMT-240AD | Intermediate Courses in Production and Practice: 'Audio Storytelling' | 4 |
| FMT-240VE | Intermediate Courses in Production and Practice: 'Video Editing' | 4 |
| FMT-330EA | Advanced Courses in History and Theory: 'Envisioning Apocalypse' | 4 |
| FMT-340DC | Advanced Courses in Production and Practice: 'Documentary Production' | 4 |
| French | ||
| FREN-225 | Intermediate Level Courses in Culture and Literature: Introduction to Contemporary Culture and Media of France and the French-Speaking World | 4 |
| FREN-331LF | Courses on Social and Political Issues and Critical Approaches: 'Publishing 'la Francophonie': The Distribution and Reception of Texts from the Antilles, Africa, and Beyond' | 4 |
| FREN-331LM | Courses on Social and Political Issues and Critical Approaches: 'Reading "Le Monde"' | 4 |
| First-Year Seminars | ||
| FYSEM-110PE | Performing the Self | 4 |
| Gender Studies | ||
| GNDST-204CW | Women and Gender in the Study of Culture: 'Androgyny and Gender Negotiation in Contemporary Chinese Women's Theater' | 4 |
| Politics | ||
| POLIT-248DA | Topics in Politics: 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' | 4 |
| Sociology | ||
| SOCI-240 | Collective Behavior and Social Movements | 4 |
| SOCI-316LT | Special Topics in Sociology: 'The New American Elite' | 4 |
| SOCI-316PS | Special Topics in Sociology: 'Digital Media and the Public Sphere' | 4 |
| Spanish | ||
| SPAN-240CN | Visual Cultures, An Introduction: 'Latin American Cinema' | 4 |
| SPAN-250LM | Concepts and Practices of Power: An Introduction: 'Making Latin America: From Independence to the Present' | 4 |
