Dr. Biswajit Das, Professor & Founding Director, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia; Dr. G. Ravindran, Professor & Head, Department of Media & Communication, Central University of Tamil Nadu; and Dr. Ananda Mitra, Professor, Department of Communication, Wake Forest University, North Carolina, USA delivered talks on the first day of Faculty Development Programme – 2021 at School of Mass Communication, KIIT Deemed to be University on 21st June 2021.
Speaking on the theme ‘Pedagogy and learning in a cross-cultural context’, Dr. Das stated that communication studies, in general, surpasses any single discipline and should be looked at from an interdisciplinary perspective. Academicians need to have a fascination with the history of communication and journalism, along with a social perspective, he mentioned, adding that journalism is often critiqued as one of the best record keepers of history. The session started with the welcome note by Dr. Bidu Bhusan Dash, Course Coordinator of the School and was moderated by Ms. Ruby Nanda, Assistant Professor. Mr. Souptik Garai, Faculty Associate conveyed the vote of thanks.
Dr. Ravindran delivered his talk on “Alternative qualitative research methodologies in communication and journalism”. Highlighting the changes required in the traditional pattern of research, he argued against the compartmentalization of research. Research theories that we follow are imported from foreign countries and it is high time to analyze and identify the social implication part of our research findings, he stated. “We need to be objective instead of subjective in our research approach. A researcher should have a critical view on the research area. Irrespective of the type of research, we should understand the basics of research along with the politics associated with it”, he added. The session started with the welcome note by Dr. Dash and was moderated by Dr. Anurag Sahu, Assistant Professor. Vote of thanks was proposed by Ms. Nanda.
Delivering the last lecture of the day on “Coming back to the classroom: The awkwardness of face-to face teaching”, Dr. Mitra narrated the changes the pandemic has brought to the teaching-learning system. He emphasized how teachers encroach on the freedom and comfortable zone of students. He shared his own experience of the initial virtual classes. Moreover, he figured out the gaps between classroom teaching and online teaching. He suggested that to accept the new normal, teachers and students should try to understand and explore the process instead of jumping to conclusions. Dr. Mitra also interacted with the participants and advised the skills one should develop during this period of time. The session started with the welcome note by Dr. Dash and was moderated by Mr. Garai. Vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. Sahu.
At all the three sessions, participants from different universities and institutes, naming a few, Saveetha College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Amity University, University of Kerala, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Guru Jambheswar University of Science and Technology, Central University of Jammu, XIM University, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies attended.