Northwestern University in Qatar

JoURNALISM PROGRAM

COURSES IN JOURNALISM: A minimum of 11 journalism courses are required of all graduates (the figures in parentheses indicate the year and semester during which the course is generally taken. Thus, 2/1 is a course taken in the first semester of the second year.)

  • Introduction to 21st Century Media (1/1)
  • Reporting and Writing (1/2)
  • Enterprise Reporting in Diverse Communities (2/1)
  • Journalism Residency Preparation**(2/2)
  • Journalism Residency Preparation** (3/1)
  • Law and Ethics (five weeks of intensive full-time study) followed by Journalism Residency (ten weeks of intensive full-time study). The Laws and Ethics/Journalism Residency program represent a full semester’s academic load and together count as four courses.) (3/2 or 4/1)
  • Two elective courses chosen from such possible offerings as: Design; Photojournalism; Radio Reporting; Broadcasting or Magazine Writing; New Media Storytelling; Public Relations; Literary Journalism; or Special Topics in such areas as Business Journalism; Environmental Journalism; Health-Science Journalism; or Documentary TV or Radio.

** The content of the Journalism Residency Preparation depends upon the kind of residency the student elects to pursue from among those offered. Students in a newspaper residency will take Newspaper Editing and an additional course specific to print journalism. Students in a broadcast residency will take Broadcast Writing and Broadcast Editing and Producing. Students in a magazine residency will take Magazine Writing and Magazine Editing.

COURSES IN OTHER FIELDS: In order to ensure that graduates of the program have pursued liberal arts studies preparing them to be informed journalists, 21 of the required 32 courses must be in subjects other than journalism. Those 21 courses must include the following distribution requirements:

  • 1 course in statistics
  • 1 additional course in science or mathematics
  • 2 courses in political science or international relations
  • 1 course in economics
  • 3 courses in history (covering at least two different geographical areas)
  • 2 courses in literature (covering different genres or periods)
  • 1 course in philosophy or religion
  • 1 course in the fine arts
  • 1 course offered by the NU-Q program in Media Industries and Technologies in media history and culture

To ensure that graduates have a deep understanding of at least one field other than journalism, six of the liberal arts courses must be in a single academic field (e.g., economics, political science, literature, etc.) Those six courses may include courses taken to fulfill the distribution requirements set forth above.

COURSE DETAILS

Introduction to 21st Century Media

This course will invite students to explore the forces and issues that influence and shape journalism and the media, using history to illuminate current trends.  The course will look at seven broad themes:  1) What is journalism? 2) What outside forces influence changes in media and journalism?  3)  the relationship between journalism and community; 4) media and audience trends; 5) the business and economics of media; 6) the purpose and role of journalism in a democratic society; and 7) standards and ethics for journalists in any society.  The course format will include a weekly lecture followed by two days of discussion and writing.

More specific information about each Journalism course to come.

COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

Students in the Program in Communication, Media Institutions and Technologies (MIT) at Northwestern University in Qatar must complete 32 semester courses to earn the Bachelor of Science in Communication.

First year curriculum for majors in Media Institutions & Technologies: Students will take 4 courses each semester.

Fall Semester: GEN CMN 111, MIT 212, MIT 220, plus one elective

Spring Semester: GEN CMN 112, MIT 190, MIT 214, plus one elective

Elective Courses: MIT 298 (can be taken more than once for credit) or other classes open to NU-Q students.

FALL 2008

GEN CMN 111-0 Writing and Speaking for Research

Instructor: Rodda Leage

Course Description: This class will provide a strong writing, speaking, and critical thinking foundation. The goal of this course is to prepare students to use written and oral English effectively in their college courses and beyond. Students will learn research and reading skills, appropriate use of source material (including documentation), development of a thesis and organization of essays and brief speeches based on the thesis, and clear and concise expression. We will spend a lot of class time discussing readings and looking at writing samples. Over the course of the term, students will complete a series of exercises in which they write and make presentations based on their reading and research, culminating in a 6-8 page multi-draft research paper.

Assignments: The class will be organized into various units to help prepare students to write and present a research paper by the end of the semester. We will take a step-by-step approach in preparing for the research paper by focusing on how to read critically, speak effectively, complete research and use online databases, develop a thesis, prepare an outline, and correctly cite sources. Homework and class participation will account for 50% of your final grade and the final presentation and research paper will account for the other 50%.

We will have a variety of shorter writing and reading assignments throughout the semester and we will build on this work to help create the final research paper which will be 6-8 pages. There will be no final exam. We will use a number of texts and resources to help support our writing skills and read a variety of short essays and articles that will deal with issues on a global scale. I am looking forward to working with each of you on an individual level and helping you develop an exciting research project.

MIT 212-0 Exploring Global Media

Instructor: James Schwoch

Course Description: Exploring Global Media investigates the past, present, and future of global media industries and technologies. We will explore global media through a combination of lectures, discussions, readings, film and video screenings, computer-based materials, and assignments. The course is organized into five units, with each unit running two to three weeks:

1. Colonial Media: Cables and Telegraphs

2. Sound Media: Radio and Recorded Sound

3. Visual Media: Cinema and Television

4. Expanding Media: Satellites, Cable TV, and Telecommunications

5. Decentralized and Digital Media: Internet and Mobile Communications

Assignments: All of the assignments will be short to medium-length projects that help you develop skills in writing, research, collecting and using data, and help you become familiar with some of the important books, articles, DVDs, and websites that examine global media.

MIT 220-0 Analyzing Media Texts

Instructor: Brian Cagle

Course Description: This course is an introduction to the study and structure of film and other media. We will define and examine the expressive and aesthetic power of the basic elements of the moving image, and the variety of ways film and other media convey meaning. Specifically, the course will investigate, across a variety of different media, modes, and historical periods, the fundamentals of cinematography, especially the shot and its composition; editing; set design and acting styles; sound; and control of space, time, and imagery. We will also discuss narrative, genre, and media specificity. The goal of the course is to acquaint students with a vocabulary specific to film and other media, and to provide students with the critical tools required for formal analysis of the moving image.

Assignments: The class includes lecture, film screenings, and a weekly discussion section; attendance and active participation in all aspects of the course are expected. Course work will include brief quizzes on the reading and vocabulary introduced each week; screening reports; a short paper; and a final exam.

MIT 298-0 Undergraduate Seminar Topic: Global Teams

Instructor: Paul Leonardi

Course Description: We live in an increasingly connected global world. In all aspects of life, we find ourselves connected to others who live in different geographical regions. Certainly, separation by time and space raises challenges to teams in business, government, community and other social organizations that seek to work together. By bringing together individuals from various regions, problems caused by communication mishaps, technology glitches, and cultural differences, just to name a few, make it difficult for people to work together. Yet the value of most teams comes from the successful coordination of expertise and talent amongst members.

This course will take an in-depth look at the nature of teams whose members are distributed around the globe. Such global teams are becoming ever prominent. From business organizations who establish satellite offices in other countries, to ad-hoc groups forming in virtual games like Second Life, globally-distributed team membership permeates our lives. The Middle-East, in particular, is an especially ripe domain for the use of global teams, as it continues to grow as an important nexus for global collaboration.

Each week, students in this course will explore various issues that they will confront as they become members of global teams. A few such issues include:

•  Bridging cultural differences

•  Choosing the appropriate technologies for different types of communication

•  Determining how to structure teams (do I have multiple people from each country?)

•  Providing a forum for informal interaction

•  The effects of distance and time differences on perceptions of team effectiveness

These issues, and many more like them, will be explored by in-depth discussions in class.

Assignments: As a seminar, each student will have a chance to reflect on the day’s readings, share their own experiences working with teams (those that are collocated and those that are distributed) and to learn from the professor and classmates about the important role of team dynamics in a global economy. Students will write two research papers throughout the course. These papers will be directed and supervised closely by the instructor.

SPRING 2009

GEN CMN 112 Writing and Speaking in Public and Professional Contexts

Instructor: Rodda Leage

Course Description: This class will build off the writing and research skills students acquired in MIT 111. Students will apply concepts to the public and professional sphere and will develop skills necessary for effective public communication in English, especially effective argument and persuasion. Students will develop their skills at analyzing and representing fields of argument in writing and presenting and defending a position in platform speaking.

Assignments: The core activity of this class will be a quarter-long collaborative research project in which students research and develop positions on a policy issue (e.g., what to do about global warming). The class will be organized into units related to identifying and analyzing claims and justification, formulating propositions, understanding argument criticism, and using persuasion. Homework and participation will make up 50% of the class grade and your persuasive speech and position paper will make up the other 50%. As in the previous semester we will use shorter writing assignment and readings from a variety of texts to prepare us for the policy-based research project.

MIT 190-0 Media Construction

Instructor: Brian Cagle

Course Description: Foundation course in media production and composition, including the core components of media: idea, image, sound, and sequence. Students will work with digital still cameras, digital video cameras, working in sync sound, and digital editing programs. In lecture, students will view narrative, documentary, and experimental work while considering a variety of questions. What do we want to express? Who is our audience? How do we talk about images? What compositional elements can we control or manipulate? How do we sequence images in order to evoke specific responses? What happens when particular sounds and images are juxtaposed? In related labs students will explore these concepts with supporting tools and technologies including SLR (still) and digital video cameras, Photoshop, and Final Cut Pro.

Assignments: Students will produce a number of directed creative assignments to learn the foundation technologies of media production, and to explore the parameters of the media for creating effective messages. These will lead to a final project.

MIT 214-0 Communication, Technology, and Culture

Instructor: Paul Leonardi

Course Description: This course examines how information and communication technology (ICT) shapes society and how people shape technologies and their effects. The course is divided into two major sections. The first section explores the social, economic, and political influences on technology design. The second section explores the implications that communication technologies have on relationships, communities, organizations, design, and public policy. By exploring these issues, the course will provide students with (1) A better understanding of what new ICTs are and why they are those ways; (2) A foundation for thinking about the implications and effects of these ICTs; and (3) Some ideas about the ways you fit into this changing world as both technology producers and users.

Overall, this course provides students with the tools to be effective consumers and users of communication technologies in a variety of social settings. Course instruction will be a mix of lecture, class discussion, and group projects. These various activities will help us to explore the role of communication technologies around five central themes:

  1. ICTs as a substitute for other media
  2. ICTs as information resources
  3. ICTs and strategic communication
  4. ICTs as way to overcome space and time, and as means to support interaction
  5. ICTs and Community

We will explore technologies ranging from email and teleconferencing to 3D video games and instant messaging. To engage in such exploration, we will draw on insights from communication, sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, and management.

Assignments: Before each class period, students will complete reading assignments that provide real-world examples of ICT development and use. Throughout the semester, students will be asked to write reaction papers to several of the readings and to work with other students on a final project exploring the role of ICTs in some type of social organization (e.g. business, community, religious, etc.)

MIT 298-0 Undergraduate Seminar. Topic: Media and the Military.

Instructor: James Schwoch

Course Description: This seminar addresses three basic approaches or ways to think about the relationships between the media and the military:

1. How the media, journalists, writers, and observers use the media to report about, comment on, support, and critique the military. This can include things like war coverage, reporting strategies, and the responses of the military to media and press coverage.

2. Media representations of the military as seen in feature films, TV programs, popular songs, books and articles, and similar. In this approach, we are considering the relationships between the media and the military in popular texts, entertainment programs, and story-telling formats.

3. Uses of media technologies by the military. In this approach, we look at things such as ads and promotional techniques for recruiting people to enlist in the military, the various radio and TV stations and other media outlets used by military forces to entertain their own troops, propaganda and psychological operations (or information warfare), and military communication technologies.

Assignments: A combination of lectures, discussions, computer-based material, film and DVD screenings, some small assignments such as posting material into computer discussion boards, and 3 medium-length papers (8-10 pages each) on the three basic approaches we use to understand the media and the military.