The second Topical seminar held on April 6 focused on the creative practices in media studies

09.04.2021

Снимок экрана 2021-04-06 в 17.02.23.pngСнимок экрана 2021-04-06 в 17.25.12.pngThe second Topical seminar was conducted on April 6 and focused on the topic of media and art. Speakers presented their researches, which addressed the topic from different perspectives.

The first to take the floor was Professor Nico Carpentier, President of the International Association for Media and Communication Research, Professor at Charles University in Prague and Free University of Brussels in Belgium. Professor Carpentier started his ‘Art based research in communication and media studies: a series of examples and experiences’ presentation by sharing first-hand experience of expanding modes of academic expression. His outstanding practice includes a series of media exhibitions and art installations, which frame the research process within the creative practices and efficiently communicate complex research ideas.

One of the most extensive projects curated by Nico Carpentier was multi-faceted Respublika!, whose program incorporated various art projects, which translated the principles of community media in creative practice. The project focused on studying participatory practices, combining art projects that reflect on media, democracy and participation, and art projects that are forms of participatory art.

Theorizing the creative research practices, Professor Carpentier outlined five different approaches to extending beyond the traditional academic communication, which include multimodality and art-based research. Professor expanded on the principles of art based research, detailing numerous elements of such approach, which stipulates the systematic use of creative elements and artistic processes as a means of generating, examining and communicating data. He completed the presentation by outlining the benefits of such approach, describing it as a precious tool for knowledge generation, which allows for experiencing the knowledge on an entirely new, emotional level and reach diversified audiences through the respectful and intimate dialogue.

Russia was represented by Denis Dunas, PhD in Philology, Leading Researcher at the Chair of Media Theory and Economics, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, who presented his report titled ‘Russian journalism and media studies: Where art and creativity begin and end’. Professor Dunas studied the historical links between journalism and art by defining the long-standing terms of Russian literary and journalism studies: Publicistika and Intelligentsia. He revealed that key terms of Russian journalism appear to be originally connected with various art forms, simultaneously being closely linked to a format of academic written text. After briefly analyzing the historical development of Russian journalism, Professor Dunas spoke about Philology as an art form and outlined some of Russian academic practices. Reflecting on the role of artistic expression in Russian journalism education, he emphasized that some professors used to actively resort to artistic means of communicating educational material, vividly illustrating his points with the examples from the academic life of his alma mater.

Denis Dunas then spoke about the art of television and outlined areas of TV studies, after which he proceeded to explore the concept of creativity in journalism. Professor Dunas concluded that though Russian journalism education is determined by literature-centric tradition and marked by a tangible presence of artistic methods, media research is heavily influenced by strong forces of global academia, which leads to the dominance of science metrics and international science indicators as major research instruments, thus resulting in decrease of art and creativity.

The presentations triggered an academic discussion, with many interesting questions addressed to the speakers concerning their innovative researches. The Faculty of Journalism regards these meetings as a vital opportunity to exchange research experiences among prominent scholars from all over the world.

Video for this Topical seminar is available at YouTube.


Seminars are to take place every month; access is available to those registered in advance.