DigiMethods 2023: Future Proofing Journalism and Media curricula in Africa Colloquium The Rhodes University School of Journalism and Media Studies invites you to join us in visualising a curriculum for our shared future as educators teaching journalism and media in the 21st century at a colloquium entitled Digimethods 2023: Future Proofing Journalism and Media Curricula in Africa. At this colloquium, we are interested in what it is that the digital enables: which new directions, new genres and forms of storytelling characterise this shifting terrain? And how do we as educators respond to them and apply them in our various different (and often challenging) contexts? Happening directly after our cutting-edge Digital Research Methods Winter School which will empower media researchers with a range of digital tools, this colloquium is aimed at teachers and educators who want to think and work together on the problem of future-proofing journalism and media curricula in Africa. When? The colloquium will be held from 23-24 June 2023. Where? Africa Media Matrix, Rhodes University in Makhanda, South Africa. BACKGROUND Over a decade ago, JMS worked to imagine a future post-apartheid in a series of Journalism Education Colloquia, which interrogated how journalism teaching needed to respond to the demands of the post-apartheid context. Last year, another series of colloquia saw us turn our focus to the specific circumstances facing journalism today: including the current ‘crisis’ of journalism in the face of digitisation and defunding, and multilingualism in journalism education. In 2023, we continue this series of rigorous engagements with the changing face of journalism. As media educators, we face new challenges as media production has become almost entirely a digital practice requiring specialised digital skills.
From artificial intelligence and immersive storytelling to data journalism and social media scraping: the rapidly changing digital context (both locally and globally) poses a range of challenges - and opportunities - for teachers, supervisors and students in African spaces.
Ours is a social context of extreme inequalities experienced along lines of gender, income, race, age, and geographical location; it is a context that is also characterised by highly unequal access to infrastructural, educational, health and other services. Given this uneven social landscape, northern approaches to teaching and researching digital media studies and media production cannot be seamlessly transposed to our southern space. So, we want to bring together some of the best and brightest minds currently working in this terrain in South Africa and the world to find ways of ‘future-proofing’ our curricula: designing programmes and teaching philosophies that are as flexible as they are strong, able to adapt to new contexts and changing technologies, and properly equip our students with the tools they need. SUBMISSIONS Whether you are already a seasoned digital guru or a media educator who would like to join in on some cutting edge conversations and see how you can use new media innovations in your teaching practice, we would love for you to join us. Participants are invited to make a contribution in the format of their choice (papers, presentations, experiential narratives, demonstrations, multimedia presentations, etc). If you would like to participate in this colloquium, please complete the following form, which includes a description (no longer than 750 words) of what you would like to present at the colloquium and in which format. Colloquium application form: https://forms.gle/EAvEzY8npP5YKeas6 Please include your name and affiliation in the email for administrative processing. Suggested themes for submissions Here are some suggested themes that might spark your thinking about issues we are responding to, as media educators living and working in this complex digital terrain: - What the digital enables: new directions, genres, forms of journalism/media production - Classroom case studies: Creative applications of new media tools and platforms in the curriculum - Decolonising journalism and media education? Adapting global technologies to local contexts - ‘Cyclists on the superhighway’ of media innovation: how do we teach students the skills they need to survive and thrive in an ever-changing world? - The role of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence in journalism and their impact on contexts in the Global South - Telling stories from the Global South using multimedia and new technologies - Artificial intelligence and student innovation: Dangerous threat to intellectual property, or powerful new learning tool? - Using immersive technologies in locative and world-building media production - Creative practice-based research projects aimed at developing journalisms for the Global South - Developing practice-led postgraduate programmes in journalism and media studies Feel free to suggest another topic based on your expertise and teaching practice. Additionally, if there are particular journalists or media educators you think should be present, please add their names and contact details to your submission. See you in Makhanda, either virtually or in person! Deadline for submission: Monday 24 April at 5pm Email k.roux@ru.ac.za for more information or if you have any questions. Kind regards Kayla Roux Digital Media Lecturer School of Journalism and Media Studies Rhodes University South Africa Kind regards Kayla Roux Digital Media lecturer School of Journalism and Media Studies Rhodes University South Africa +27 46 603 7137