COMS 610 01 2233

Details

Zoom link: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/j/85725124440?pwd=SG9MRFlhODUwUC9hb1dUMkJiSEJGdz09
Class Time: Fridays: 12:30 – 3:00 (approx. twice a month & flexible times)
Location: CJ 5.301 LOY

Collaborative note-taking pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/coms610-sharednotes-keep

Contact Information

Instructor: Fenwick McKelvey
E-mail: fenwick.mckelvey@concordia.ca

Office hours: Friday 10am to noon through Zoom or by appointment

Description

The Media Studies Seminar introduces first-year MA students to issues related to professionalization in media studies research and practice. The seminar involves critical discussion about the transfer of media studies scholarship and research-creation to diverse institutional contexts and about concrete demands of scholarly enterprise. This will include topics such as grant writing, research and research ethics, thesis writing, research-creation, knowledge mobilization, career narratives, administrative processes, and academic labour.

The Media Studies Seminar is a mandatory pass/fail course. Attendance and meaningful participation are the measures of accomplishment for this seminar as there are no assignments except to attend class and specific events identified. Attendance is absolutely essential; in the event of an absence, an additional course component will be assigned to you, based on the week missed – these are to be discussed on a case-by-case basis.

In addition to our meetings listed below, you will be asked to attend at least ONE additional public talk or event, conference, or symposium per semester, which will be shared and discussed at a subsequent meeting.

For the Winter semester, you will be expected to identify, read, and present one MA thesis / MRP / research-creation project published in the department over the last 10 years published on Spectrum.

Recommended Readings

  1. Eco, U. (2015). How to Write a Thesis. MIT Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262527132/how-to-write-a-thesis/
  2. Calarco, J. M. (2020). A Field Guide to Grad School. Princeton University Press. https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691201092/a-field-guide-to-grad-school [Note its an American text, but useful nonetheless.]
  3. Jensen, J. (2017). Write No Matter What: Advice for Academics. University of Chicago Press.

Schedule

AUTUMN

Sept 9  1pm to 3:30pm     Welcome! Overview of scholarly goals, MA program pathways and resources (slide deck)

Schedule

1pm to 1:30pm: Introductions and Icebreaker

1:30pm to 2:15pm: Question and Answers with GPA Mircea Mandache

2:15pm to 2:30pm: Break

2:30pm to 3:00pm: Presentation from CUFA and COMS MA student Saskia Kowalchuk

3:00pm to 3:30pm: Tour of the COMS Building with Douglas Hollingworth

(Optional) Sept 16  2pm to 4pm   Strategic Foresight Workshop

Sept 23  12pm to 2pm       Grant Writing Workshop (has to be early as there is a faculty meeting starting at 2pm)

Please see : https://www.concordia.ca/sgs/awards-funding/provincial-federal.html

FRQSC deadline is Oct 6; SSHRC deadline is Dec 1

October 14     1pm to 4pm       Library Resources with Area Librarian Joshua Chalifour (note back-to-back classes)

Oct 21  1pm to 3pm      Knowledge mobilization workshop with guests TBC

Nov 4   12:30-3:00        Writing workshop and study habits

Readings

  1. Turetsky, E. (2022, May 31). Everyone Is Doing The Artist’s Way So You Might As Well. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/2022/05/review-the-artists-way-morning-pages-explained.html
  2. Part II in Jensen, J. (2017). Write No Matter What: Advice for Academics. University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo26049293.html
  3. Ch. 5 in Eco, U. (2015). How to Write a Thesis. MIT Press. https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262527132/how-to-write-a-thesis/
  4. Temple, E. (2019, March 19). “Go With What’s Alive” and Other Writing Advice from Philip Roth. Literary  Hub. https://lithub.com/go-with-whats-alive-and-other-writing-advice-from-philip-roth/
  5. Ha, T.-H. (2017, August 4). Professional romance novelists can write 3,000 words a day. Here’s how they do it. Quartz. https://qz.com/1044845/how-to-write-a-book-strategies-from-prolific-writers-on-how-to-stay-productive/

Nov 25    1pm to 2:30pm        End of Term Celebration with 5 min Reports on public talk or event, conference, or symposium

WINTER
Jan 13  1pm to 3:00pm       Term 2 Check-in and discussion about giving an academic presentation
Objectives: What is the defence? What is the proposal? What is a reasonable timeline?

Jan 27  1pm to 5:00pm        MA Media Studies Research Symposium (presentations by 2nd year students)

Feb 10  1pm to 2:00pm         Ethics and Professional Practice Workshop
Please budget 3-hrs to complete the TCPS Training Module

Slides: Research Ethics

Feb 24  - NO CLASS

Mar 10  1pm to 3:00pm         Alumni Workshop and career paths

Objectives: Directors for life after an MA; should I do a PhD?; being a professional researcher

Mar 24  1pm to 3:00pm         Intellectual and Professional Narratives of Communication Studies Faculty

Objectives: Conferences and professional associations; how to write an academic biography;

April 7 1pm to 3:00pm         Discussion of Transition to Year; 25 min Reports on public talk or event, conference, or symposium