Media Studies has fallen victim to the term, since there are 43 times as many Media Studies students in higher education as there are jobs available in the media annually. In 2000, Staffordshire University was mocked as providing 'David Beckham Studies' as it provided a module on the sociological importance of football to students taking Sociology, Sports Science, or Media Studies.
Mickey Mouse A-levels and "soft options"
Other degrees deemed 'Mickey Mouse' include Golf Management, Surfing Studies, Wine Studies, and Boxing. One thing these courses share is that they are vocational, which are seen to be less intellectually rigorous than the traditional academic degrees. Perception has not been helped in the United Kingdom by the conversion of polytechnics to New Universities. These New Universities then have trouble competing with the more established institutions instead of being judged as polytechnics.
Defenders of these courses object that the derogatory comments made in the media rely on the low symbolic capital of New subjects, and rarely discuss course contents beyond the titles. Another factor is the correct or incorrect perception that the take up of these subjects, and the decline of more traditional academic subjects, is causing the predictable annual grade rise in the United Kingdom.
Although it is perceived as a recent phenomenon, 'dumbing down' has historical roots. In 1828, University College London was criticised for teaching English Literature, a subject which has now become prestigious because of the high analytical and theoretical skills, or level of intellectual inquiry, required for a discussion of texts.
The A-level in General Studies is seen as a Mickey Mouse subject, as well as Critical Thinking, with many universities not accepting it as part of the requirements for an offer.
Additionally, although not Micky Mouse subjects as such, some qualifications are not preferred by top universities, and are regarded as "soft options". A 2007 report stated that the sciences were more challenging than subjects such as English, which might be taken by students to get higher grades for university applications. A US example is degrees in Physical education. These have been issued to members of the college's athletics teams, to make them eligible to play; otherwise they would fail to pass traditional subjects.
Cambridge University suggests the following A-Level and International Baccalaureate subjects "provide a less effective preparation for [their] courses":
| A-Level | International Baccalaureate |
|---|---|
| Accounting | Business and Management |
| Art and Design | Design and Technology |
| Business Studies | Information Technology in a Global Society |
| Communication Studies | Theatre Arts |
| Dance | Visual Arts |
| Design and Technology | |
| Drama/Theatre Studies | |
| Film Studies | |
| Health and Social Care | |
| Home Economics | |
| Information and Communication Technology | |
| Leisure Studies | |
| Media Studies | |
| Performance Studies | |
| Photography | |
| Physical Education | |
| Sports Studies | |
| Travel and Tourism |
By Will Duffield
Media is vital to our lives, so it should be studied properly. And anyway, media studies graduates have a better-than-average chance of landing a job – so why are media degrees sometimes so scorned? Will Duffield reports:
I enrolled at the
I was far from excited about writing a dissertation in English, but ideas for media based dissertations were floating around in my head. I realized I needed to change my priorities and concentrate on something that interested me.
So I switched from English major, to media major, and so far I have not regretted my decision.
I remember my Dad’s response to my sudden desire to swap as something on the lines of: “Well I think English is worth more” and my stubbornness was not exactly subtle, with my defiant reply: “Not if I want to be the chairman of the BBC!”
Admittedly, I’ve since asked myself whether I may have just “copped out” from a “proper” degree. English must be more prestigious and worthwhile, right? After all, English was here first. But just look at the range of courses available under the broad heading of media studies. Courses range from solely theoretical to totally practical, or a mix of both, and with the focus from journalism to film theory or anything in between. Making videos, taking photographs and watching films seem to many people to be fun, not work.
But remember the practical work is usually supported with theoretical evidence presented as academic writing, as with any degree. And of course the practical side of media based courses allows students to learn the value of group work and initiative and leads to the production of a portfolio that can be sold or may assist in finding work.
That is all well and good but how can we be sure a media-based degree is credible and of practical value, and not a waste of time? Bernadette Casey, dean of school at Marjon, said media courses are becoming more vocationally relevant and are far more likely to be tied to professional advisory boards.
She said: “It’s important we study media because it’s such a big presence in our lives,” adding: “If you graduate with a degree in media the chances of you getting a job are higher.”
Comforting words for any media student, even though many sceptics continue to scoff at media studies degrees. They might praise as admirable the writers, directors, producers and broadcasters who create the media we consume.
But taking the first step to becoming one warrants scorn, or at the very least a disapproving frown. It is difficult to understand why. Media courses incorporate perspectives from social science and humanities and teach analytical skills and critical thinking in a similar way to more “credible” courses.
Media students must assess not only media texts, but also the audience, institutions and producers – all in greater depth than other forms of study. Some media studies graduates work in national television production or as documentary directors and/or producers.
One Marjon media graduate is a producer of Blue Peter and a director. Another works for a
Natalie Fenton in her Education Guardian article “We’re all Media Moguls Now,” said: “Understanding of the vast and ever-expanding world of media and culture in all its forms is fundamental to our economic wellbeing.”
And she added: “Understanding a world increasingly overwhelmed by media and cultural industries, often under the control of multinational corporations, is also crucial to our social and cultural welfare.” It is difficult to contest these claims, given the media saturated society we live in today. We need not only to be aware of the economic strength of the media in all its forms, but also to consider that understanding how and why the media is like it is may help explain certain societal conventions and the psyche of the individual as a recipient of media. Whether the media can influence consumers to the point where we modify our ideas and desires based on what we read and watch is debatable, but undoubtedly the media we consume is a huge presence in our lives and should be given our utmost attention.
The type of media a person consumes is often used – sometimes unfairly – to make judgements about their character. Someone who reads tabloid newspapers rather than broadsheets is assigned to an identifiable social position. Broadsheets, for most people, are seen as a reliable source of information, whereas the tabloids are seen as “gossipy”.
Beyond our choice of newspaper as an indicator of social class, the clothes we wear and every product we buy, whether a pencil case or a Mercedes Benz, helps articulate our identities – and more so than we might initially suspect. Importantly, the prestige or the negative perceptions associated with the products we consume can be strongly linked to the promotion of such products through the media we consume.
Despite this, some people still frown upon the value of a degree in media studies. The next time you encounter a scoffer, politely ask them what they know about media studies courses, the wide range of career opportunities, and the employment rates of media graduates. You will more often than not find critics have no idea what a media degree entails and are unaware of the practical value of a course.
By Sally Feldman
Sally Feldman on killing off 'soft option' media studies.
Get out your flick knives and unpack your pistols. We're about to do battle again. In the latest skirmish in the education class wars, some Russell Group universities are warning applicants to avoid taking "soft" A levels. The attack is being led by curmudgeonly
There are no prizes for guessing which subject tops the "safe" list. This new move is the latest in the long-established blood sport of media studies-baiting. And it's not just the old, traditional universities that have it in for the subject. It's equally hated by the press. Journalists who spend so much of their professional lives intruding and probing don't much like it when they're the ones being scrutinised and assessed. They love to quote the story of the eminent media studies professor who was invited to spend a day at a national newspaper. He was bemused by the almost miraculous process whereby a flurry of agitated phone calls, barking editors, scurrying reporters and frantic subs finally resulted in the next day's edition pumping out of the presses in the early hours of the morning. "Well, it works OK in practice," he conceded. "But it could never work in theory."
And in the academic land of media studies, that theory can be infinitely flexible, ranging from the rugged heights of socio-political analysis to the flamboyant shores of cultural studies, with rampant post-modern jungles of discourse analysis, hermeneutics and textual deconstruction. So rival scholars tend to dislike each other even more than they mistrust the practitioners, who in turn despise them.
Maybe it's the word "studies" that arouses suspicion, as it's so often attached to the new interdisciplinary degrees and their mix of theory and practice. Though it's not always clear what the difference might be. My friend's son who's just achieved an A at sports studies GCSE explained that practice meant playing football. And the theory? That, he said, meant knowing the rules of the game. You know where you are with a theology degree, but once it becomes religious studies you can't help wondering what defines practice. Flaunting a burka? Getting circumcised? Or maybe you have to go the whole unkosher hog and walk on water while turning it into wine. Which would neatly shape up as a transferable skill.
In some quarters, though, the word actually confers academic respectability. Times Higher Education recently reported the furious reaction of senior academics at the University of the West of England to a proposal from Sir Howard Newby, their now departed vice-chancellor, to change the name of the degree in journalism studies to straight journalism. This, they argued, was an attempt to replace a theoretical course with a - watch it, nasty word coming up - "vocational" one.
This hovering anxiety that the drive towards jobs is somehow tarnishing academic principles masks a kind of high-level defensiveness. It's no accident that media studies graduates are more likely to progress to relevant jobs than those who study English or history. They are acquiring skills and experience as well as academic education. While their public school chums doing PPE at
On the other hand, they have a point. Once it may have been exciting and innovative. Now media studies is commonplace. Between 1997 and 2006, the number of media studies undergraduates rose by 344 per cent. And the courses are so disparate that the title is becoming meaningless. Some are all theory, some mainly practical. Quite a few make exaggerated claims about their facilities while in reality driving cattle trucks of freshers through a maze of edit suites and mixing desks with limited time and pressurised technical help. So it's hardly surprising the Higher Education Funding Council for
Yet it's this cocktail of creative, technical and theoretical education that is the hallmark of the best media studies courses. On our BA at
It's served us well until now. But we've finally decided the time has come to submit to the inevitable and abandon that troubled tag of media studies altogether. In future, we'll have separate degrees for each practice-oriented subject, still underpinned by a substantial core of theory but without the Mickey Mouse connotations.
I've had it up to here with defending, defining and resting on the laurels of media studies. Instead of being a vague, debased catchall, the term should be reserved for purely theoretical degrees, operating like any other humanities discipline. You should be able to do it at
*Sally Feldman is dean of media, arts and design at the
More thought-provoking articles on the issue:
Media studies and other trendy 'Mickey Mouse' degrees 'leaves students dissatisfied' by ThisIsLondon
40m waste of the 'Mickey Mouse' degrees by Steve Doughty
From surfing to brewing beer: 'Mickey Mouse' courses have come of age, says university body by James Meikle
Taking the mick by Emma Brockes
'Mickey Mouse' degrees are just the job by Boris Johnson
The non-courses Report 2007 by The TaxPayers'
So according to Wikipedia, "rebranding is the process by which a product or service developed with one brand, company or product line affiliation is marketed or distributed with a different identity. This may involve radical changes to the brand's logo, brand name, image, marketing strategy, and advertising themes. These changes are typically aimed at the repositioning of the brand/company, usually in an attempt to distance itself from certain negative connotations of the previous branding, or to move the brand upmarket."
We prefer the latter, though we must admit the first reason is equally true.
Cosmopoint International College of Technology has been rebranded to
The objectives are simple:
Changing perception is vital in the process of rebranding. One of the subtle injections of corporate awareness is by coming up with a brand new logo and slogan.
In search for the faculty's logo, we tried our best to avoid the conventional. This is expected, we supposed. We are, after all, the media people. So we decided to go random and materialize the impossible. Fashion and architecture has made it evident, why not us?
and how random is the architecture design of Guggeinheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain…
China’s ice cube-inspired National Swim Centre…
their egg-inspired National Centre for the Performing Arts…
and the nest-inspired Beijing National Stadium.
Every big thing started small. To build a nest, it starts from gathering tiny pieces of leaves and sticks. The same goes to us. Media or any form of art, starts from lines and dots. That would probably be the concept of our logo. Back to basics, yet irregular. Just wait and see. :)
