JMC redefines strategy

Effective from Fall 2010 semester, a new curriculum for the Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) major has been introduced. The JMC faculty worked on it for the past two years, but most of the work has been done this semester.

"The new structure reflects changing trends in the media on a global scale, faculty can explore new topics and students have more courses [to choose from]," Dinka Spirovska, chair of the JMC department, said. "We want to build a stronger foundation to traditional values, fairness, accuracy and freedom of speech. In looking at the previous curriculum we were heavy on the skills side, but we had to increase the theoretical base," Spirovska added.

The new curriculum has some things in common with the old one, but also some important changes. "We have added courses, so instead of ten we now have 12 courses for the JMC curriculum. Just like any other major," Spirovska said at the informative session in the NAB Auditorium last Monday. Visual Communications: Theory and Practice, given by Spirovska, will also satisfy the General Education requirement for Aesthetic Expression. Introduction to Multimedia Journalism, which used to be a 300-level elective course, is now one of the required core courses. However, it is not offered in Fall 2010.

"It is still a program that will lead you through writing a significant amount of text in a journalistic style, but the format, and when you get those skills have changed," Spirovska said.

Another enhancement is the possibility to choose either the Journalism or the Mass Communications concentration tracks within the major. Students who decide on one of the two have the opportunity to do a Capstone project. It requires working with a professor, and may replace the Bulgarian state exam. "In the American University in Central Asia we had four tracks from this major. I think it is great that AUBG students can now concentrate on what they are more interested in," JMC student Sabina Huseyinova said.

Students who have already declared JMC as a major now may choose. "The first option is sticking to the requirements of the catalog year in which you declared the major. Or, you can [choose to] finish under the new structure," Spirovska added.

She is very positive about the effects of the new curriculum. "I told Mr. Sullivan. I expect a flood," Spirovska said. She added she encourages students from other majors to consider JMC now, because of the highly interdisciplinary approach of the new courses. "It is not only important to know how to say it, but also to have something to say," Spirovska said.