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“ My training encompassed social scientific , literary and historiographical theories and methodologies , and I have published in journals specialising in cinema , radio , history and American studies .”
Questioning the legitimacy of media studies to academia is not unusual , the academic says .
One of Meyer ’ s gripes is that news media is often considered the only legitimate form of media to study as it informs the public about important ( and sometimes vacuous ) events and therefore serves a democratic function . She adds that media for entertainment is seen as “ suspect ” as it ’ s “ fictional ”, and media aimed at selling a product is similarly frowned upon for being “ commercial ”.
“ This suspicion is embodied in the vast amount of social scientific research on the effects of mass media ( and , now , social media ), particularly on young people – who , for centuries , have been regarded as unduly susceptible to new media forms ,” Meyers says .
“ But even social scientific media scholars are often baffled by humanities-based media studies : if not to count units or measure outcomes , thereby quantifying media ’ s impact and relevance to our society , what is the point ?
So , what is the point of media studies ? What is and isn ’ t it ?
According to Meyer , media studies scholars analyse the media text as a sort of cultural product , studying “ how media texts are produced , delving into primary sources and drawing upon historical context for analysis , rather than parroting the views of industry insiders ”.
“ Others study reception and fan culture , employing a variety of methodologies for analysing audiences ’ interpretative processes ,” Meyers adds .
Meyers also highlights that academia is very much driven by the value of the elites , and she has been met with horror when proposing that the Kardashian / Jenner phenomenon could be worthy of study from a variety of perspectives and methodologies .
“ But , as a media studies scholar , I find value not in any personal enjoyment of the Kardashian / Jenner oeuvre , or any claim about its absolute aesthetic quality ,” she says .
“ I find it , rather , in the opportunity it gives us to understand the culture of its oftenoverlooked young and female audience .
For this demographic , the Kardashians / Jenners have produced significant , longrunning cultural texts . They have also marketed a wide range of products , built media organisations and innovated cultural forms – all of which may repay visual , rhetorical , social , cultural and industrial analysis .”
CREATIVE WRITING Kate Cantrell is a lecturer in writing , editing and publishing at the University of Southern Queensland
In her opening remarks , Cantrell recalls a day when she took her creative writing class to the zoo to practise writing about animals . One of her colleagues – an economics lecturer – emailed her about the trip , effusive with faux envy .
“ I wish I could do that in my class !” she said . “ You know , muck around every day , go on excursions .
“ You don ’ t know how lucky you are ! I ’ m teaching deadweight loss and Harberger ’ s triangle , and you ’ re writing about wombats !”
Her patronising remarks did not go unnoticed by Cantrell , particularly the excessive use of punctuation marks . But as an expert in textual analysis , reading between the lines was not a challenge for the creative writing lecturer .
“ Creative writing is fun , easy , light . Economics is serious , difficult , important ,” was the implied message . So , Cantrell got on with her reply . “ Creative writing is an academic discipline that requires the same skills as economics : critical thinking , working with constraints , testing different theories , understanding complex relationships , navigating market madness ,” she said .
“ If your students are bored , they can take CWR101 as an elective .” Ouch !
However , this kind of passive aggression did not end here , with the economics professor not willing to be outsmarted by some literary type .
“ Sounds great ! Thanks ! I would love to audit your course !” the economics professor wrote , with the excessive exclamation marks and use of “ audit ” highlighting an equally sarcastic and toxic attitude .
While Cantrell reasoned that the economics professor might not have been enjoying the best day , the email still irked her .
“ I recognised in her bizarre attempt at self-validation a complete misunderstanding
If they misinform the public about what psychology is , people may avoid seeking its help .
of creative writing and what a university writing course entails ,” Cantrell says .
“ For one , the misguided idea that anything ‘ creative ’ is a soft option is an unsupported resentment that still lingers in the academy ; its negative charge often rubs off on students who come to class with the misconception that a creative writing course will lower their stress and raise their grade point average .”
While Cantrell is happy when she hears students reflect that “ writing is both a discipline and an art ”, she feels an equal sense of disillusionment that creative work struggles to be perceived as “ valid research ”.
“ Imagine , for example , being told that you can ’ t submit your novel for review as a research output because it didn ’ t come out of a theoretical problem ,” University of South Australia dean of research Craig Batty broods .
“ Or that you can ’ t submit your awardwinning short film because it ’ s not long enough . Or that your music composition doesn ’ t contribute to innovations in the form because it was broadcast commercially .”
Adding to these frustrations are the government ’ s incessant attacks on the arts through measures such as funding cuts . Perhaps this is borne from some misguided idea that “ creative writing is a leisure activity , a mere hobby that contributes nothing to the economic bottom line ”.
“ Another misreading is that writing is cathartic , a thinly disguised therapy for middle-aged women who want to reclaim their sacred selves . Inherent in this dismissal , which often sinks into offensive derision , is the insinuation that creative writing is all about Feelings and Emotions ( for the record , writing itself is a method of thinking , and thinking is hard work ),” Cantrell asserts .
“ For this reason , the most infuriating question of all , ‘ Can creative writing be taught ?’, is pointless . Creative writing is being taught . And , at my university , as elsewhere , it is more popular than ever .” ■
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