Undergraduate students can now declare a minor in journalism and social change.
The minor is made up of 24 credits — with six core journalism classes, two lower level and four upper year classes and two additional classes in other disciplines.
There will be a gradual roll out of the lower level classes, JRNL 200 and JRNL 201, during the coming academic year. The full course offering will be available in the 2024/25 academic year.
Dr. Saranaz Barforoush, the coordinator of the program and assistant professor of teaching at the School of Journalism, Writing and Media, has been leading the development of the minor during the pandemic.
“We always had more interest from students asking us for more classes in journalism at the undergraduate level,” said Barforoush. “The idea was to try and really respond to the interests as much as we can.”
According to Barforoush, the thematic inspiration for the program came after seeing how social justice movements, wars and the pandemic had reshaped society.
“It really resonated to think about journalism's role and responsibility and social change … how do students understand and navigate all of the issues through media and news and how we respond to it?"
Barforoush said the minor is designed to allow students to explore their interest in journalism while pursuing personal interests.
“[Students] take courses … catered towards what they are interested in and at the same time receiving skills in journalism, storytelling, fact-checking, media literacy, creating really effective multimedia stories,” said Barforoush. “We really tried hard to create something interdisciplinary.”
The minor seeks to equip students with both theoretical and practical skills including an understanding of journalism, the role of journalists and how the field responds to social change.
A key component of the program includes bringing guest speakers with lived experiences into the classroom.
“We will be bringing in people from the field, which is a practice we really honour here at the School of Journalism … we will be using a lot of [our] connections, to bring them into class so that they could share their experience. It’s all hands on deck for the School of Journalism,” added Barforoush.
Barforoush also highlighted the breath of this program.
“This is not just for students that want to be journalists. This is for students that want to have skills to navigate this ever-changing media world.”
This piece was updated at 11:38 a.m. on August 1 to correct the credit count of the minor and Professor Barforoush's title. The Ubyssey regrets this error.
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