UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 19 JUNE 2014
Birmingham City University’s School of Media is bringing together journalism and production tutors from around the country to look in detail at the part practice can play in academic research.
The Media Practice Academics Conference – MPAC – will be a platform for university teachers from newsroom and production backgrounds to debate concerns that practice-based teaching and research is often overlooked.
“Too often people teaching journalism or in radio and television are told they have to take a step back and look at their subjects from a purely theoretical standpoint if they are to be taken seriously as researchers,” said Diane Kemp, Professor of Broadcast Journalism Education at Birmingham City University. “MPAC is designed to get together people who see the value of research through practice and to give them a forum.”
Speakers at the event will include Professor Tim Crook from Goldsmiths College, University of London, who will look at the division between practice and theory in journalism teaching and question whether any progress has been made since the days of the University of London’s Diploma in Journalism which began in 1919. Richard Horsman, from Leeds Trinity, will his view that the PhD qualification has a discriminating impact on media practice teaching in Higher Education and Diane Kemp will examine the ways in which academic practice is described.
Two other Birmingham City University staff, Sam Coley and Vanessa Jackson, will present details of their own practice based PhD research and there will be a discussion about the potential for a new journal as a platform for publication of practice research.
Professor Kemp said: “This is the first of what we hope will become an annual conference which will play an important part in raising the profile of practice teaching and research and the excellent work being done by colleagues around the country.”
To register for this exciting opportunity, please complete the Eventbrite form below.