How interactive is your television?

From documentary photography to an analysis of reality television, upcoming seminars at The University of Queensland will explore hot topics in media and communication.

UQ’s School of Journalism and Communication will hold three seminars in July and August. All seminars will be held at UQ’s St Lucia campus.

Wednesday, July 27 at 2pm Room 320, Building 68 (chemistry), Cooper Rd
Doctoral candidate Paul Verschueren will explore the past, present and future of photojournalism. Using examples, he will discuss the changes in documentary photography and the influence on it of changing technology, politics and culture.

Thursday, August 4 at 10am
Library Conference Room, Social Sciences and Humanities Library, Campbell Rd
Dr Elske van de Fliert will discuss the importance of communication in development policy and sustainable development.

She will explore the different groups of people involved in development projects and the importance of effective communication in influencing positive outcomes.

“Sustainable development can be described as a change process to improve people`s livelihood on the short and long term, taking into consideration socio-cultural, economic and environmental aspects,” Dr van de Fliert said.

“Participatory communication is a powerful tool to facilitate this change process, particularly when stakeholders with conflicting interests are involved.”

Friday, August 12 at 2pm
Room 141, Building 47A (Sustainable Minerals Institute), Staff House Rd
Dr Mark Andrejevic will explore the interactive capacity of new media in his seminar. He will use examples from mass media (including reality TV), marketing and politics.

He questions new media and reality television where audience participation is encouraged. Is this democratic public involvement or invasive data gathering and public monitoring?

Dr Andrejevic is the author of Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched (Rowman and Littlefield, 2004). He is a former newspaper journalist and now Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa (US).

Media: Dr John Cokley at UQ’s School of Journalism and Communication (07 3365 3381, j.cokley@uq.edu.au) or Elizabeth Kerr at UQ Communications (07 3365 2339, e.kerr@uq.edu.au)