I agree entirely that digital media isn't necessarily (or mainly) Internet research/studies and, yes, pretty much everything in our film and television department is digital now. I suspect the term 'digital media' is a bit like 'new media' - relevant only in terms of marking out a transition in human affairs that is worthy of special attention; and, probably, Internet research is another, quite like it. As a side note, 'new media' has become political all of a sudden in Australia through the way the US-Australia free trade agreement is drafted. In deference to the US, Australia has basically given away local content control/support over anything other than what it does already, via the phrase 'new media' (poorly defined). What do people think are the key constitutive elements that might provide some substance to the adjectives digital or new when linked to 'media' - is it, perhaps, interactivity? Matt Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, Humanities Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen@curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) Vice-President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org -----Original Message----- From: Ed Lamoureux [mailto:ell@bradley.edu] Sent: Wednesday, 4 August 2004 9:16 PM To: Association of Internet Researchers Subject: [Air-l] digital media in academia The term "digital media" is real contested in American academic circles. I doubt that there are very many Radio/Television folk (esp. the TVers) who think/feel that they are doing anything BUT digital media. And many of the journalists are not far behind. So most of the folks in "mass media" probably feel as though they are in digital media. Someone shifted the question about digital media to answers about internet studies. I know that this is an internet researchers list . . . but I suspect that few in COM/Mass media departments in America would even think about internet studies as being at the center of digital media, let alone constrain digital media to internet orientations. There are a few of us in programs targeted toward new media/multimedia . . . but again, we are a very small number at the undergraduate level. And of course, "digital media" encompasses (to name only a few) LOTS of folks in "interactive" computer science, engineering, and Art programs (esp. at graduate levels). In short, I don't think it's possible to accurately categorize "digital media" programs or classes without producing a list almost as long as (virtually) all of the schools in the country with COM/ART/CS/ENGIN program. The studies are very interdisciplinary. Edward Lee Lamoureux, Ph. D. Director, Multimedia Program and New Media Center Associate Professor, Speech Communication 1501 W. Bradley Bradley University Peoria IL 61625 309-677-2378 http://hilltop.bradley.edu/~ell http://gcc.bradley.edu/mm/ _______________________________________________ Air-l mailing list Air-l@aoir.org http://www.aoir.org/mailman/listinfo/air-l