Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Tuesday, November 12, 2024 — Houston, TX

Media studies minor relevant today

By Gordon Hughes and Lida Oukaderova     11/2/16 8:00am

To the Editors,

While we were happy to read Huizi Yu’s report on the new minor in cinema and media studies published on Oct. 26, Ruby Pan’s comment that the minor “seems useless in the real world” was an unfortunate conclusion to the piece. While there are certainly many careers (director, critic, media executive, historian and designer, to name a few) that relate directly to media studies as a field of study, the program is most urgently relevant for our broader experience as citizens. In an era in which many people spend more time looking at screens than live human faces, and in which a reality TV star is a major-party candidate for president, the need for deep critical thinking about media has never been more pressing. We invite Ruby to visit our courses and reconsider her ideas about the kinds of skills and knowledge that are useful in today’s world.

Gordon Hughes, Associate Professor of Art History



Lida Oukaderova, Assistant Professor of Art History



More from The Rice Thresher

OPINION 10/29/24 10:51pm
Make Election Day a permanent non-instructional day

Back in 2022, as Jones College’s New Student Representatives, we presented one of our first Student Association Senate resolutions to President Reggie DesRoches and other university leaders, asking them to designate Election Day as a non-instructional day. This resolution aimed to eliminate barriers to voting and promote civic engagement, recognizing that the right to vote should not come at the cost of academic performance. 


Comments

Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.