News

The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Mass Communication’s tradition of presenting critical and trending topics, along with engaging and dynamic speakers during its annual Mass Communications Week continues Monday-Thursday, April 3-6, when it is expected to draw its largest crowd yet. 

The four-day conference, “Diversity Amidst Adversity,” will feature keynote speakers:

• Rokhaya Diallo is a French-Senegalese journalist, writer, award-winning filmmaker and activist for racial, gender and religious equality. She is the author of Racism: A Guide, France Belongs to Us, France: One and Multicultural and How to Talk to Kids About Racism. Diallo will present her film screening of Networks of Hate from 5:30-8 p.m. Monday, April 3 in the Morris University Center Maple-Dogwood Room. 

• Jack G. Shaheen is a professor emeritus and internationally acclaimed media critic. He and his wife have collected and analyzed materials that depict Arabs and Muslims. The Jack G. Shaheen Archive now contains nearly 3,000 motion pictures. Shaheen will speak from 7-8:15 p.m. Thursday, April 6 in Dunham Hall Theater. 

“This year is the first time we are bringing in higher profile speakers with international reputations,”

said Department of Mass Communications Chair Elza Ibroscheva, PhD. “The faculty chose this year’s theme in light of the political realities we are living in now. It’s a time when people feel more marginalized and isolated than ever before.” 

“We want to talk about the media’s role in this new political climate, where there is a growing sense of ‘fake news,’” Ibroscheva added. “Struggles with the media are not new, but we want everyone, especially our students, to understand the responsibilities of the press, and how important the press is in a thriving democracy. We will also deal with the notion of living in ‘post truth’ culture. It is the responsibility of the media to show that truth matters.” 

The events during Mass Communications Week are free and open to the public and made possible with the support of the College of Arts and Sciences. A few highlights include: 

Monday, April 3:

Dr. Gary Hicks, SIUE Department of Mass Communications professor
Media, Stigma and Mental Illness
1:30-2:45 p.m.
Morris University Center, Maple-Dogwood Room 

William Recktenwald, senior lecturer and journalist-in-residence at SIUC
Is the Press Losing its Credibility and Power?
3-4:15 p.m.
Morris University Center, Maple-Dogwood Room

Shaheen’s “A is for Arab” critically acclaimed exhibit, captures, displays and visually deconstructs the stereotypes of
Muslim and Arabs in the Western world
Monday-Thursday on display
Dunham Hall Theater Foyer

Tuesday, April 4:

Diallo and Anna Baltzer, a Jewish-American Columbia graduate, former-Fulbright scholar and granddaughter of Holocaust refugees
Documenting the Diverse Human Experience: Views from the Field
9:30-11 a.m.
Morris University Center, Maple-Dogwood Room​

Mass Communications Graduates Panel, recent SIUE Mass Communications graduates
What I Wished I Learned Before I Graduated
2-3:15 p.m.
Morris University Center, Maple-Dogwood Room 

Wednesday, April 5

Dr. Sarah Kendzior, PhD in Anthropology from Washington University, is widely published and is a frequent commentator on topics concerning authoritarianism and the media, Putin, Trump and contemporary European politics
Ask the Expert
11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Morris University Center, Maple-Dogwood Room​

First Amendment Free Food Festival
“Who needs free speech when you have free pizza?”
11 a.m.-Pizza is gone
Dunham Hall Patio
Sponsored by The Alestle, St. Louis Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, College Media Association and SIUE Department of Mass Communications

Cory Byers and Ashley Seering, SIUE Mass Communications Class of 2014
Film Screenings: Renewed and Sanctuary, two award-winning documentaries
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Morris University Center, Maple-Dogwood Room

Thursday, April 6

Gary Broome, director of communications and marketing at the International Institute of St. Louis. 
National and International Coverage of Refugees
3-4:15 p.m.
Dunham Hall, Room 2007 

For a detailed events schedule and additional information, visit Diversity Amidst Adversity or contact the SIUE Department of Mass Communications.

Photos:
Keynote speakers for the annual Mass Communications Week are Rokhaya Diallo and Jack G. Shaheen.