MFA & PhD: Questioning Equity

Some questions might help your department extend a previous discussion on the care and feeding of MFAs in your midst by examining whether practice and theory are really as integrated as admissions brochures claim.  As with any survey, you may expect anonymity to affect the answers considerably.

CURRICULUM

• Quantify the courses in an undergraduate Media Production degree.  How many are studies classes?  How many are production classes?  Does your Studies faculty consider that adequate?  Does your Production faculty?
• What is your department's course substitution practice?  If a senior on the cusp of graduation needs a production course that isn't offered, is her advisor any more or less likely to substitute a theory course?

MFA & PhD: The Privilege of Theory

Good Grief.  Not everyone wears chevrons, Charlie Brown.

Nudged there by professors, the issue of privilege floats frequently to the forefront of classroom discussions.  White.  Male.  Abel-bodied.  Western.  Wealthy.  Heteronormative.  Unexamined.  Media-reinforced.  Encouraging students to question and define social norms for their generation is our duty.  It's also our pleasure.  We seem frequently to take delight as the powerful squirm beneath the light of examination.

But who might squirm if the same light were turned on those who themselves study Communication?  Who are the powerful among Media professors and administrators?  Who are the wealthy?  Which groups are favored by history?  How might we identify (and challenge) the privileged among us?

Avid, Apple & Adobe (Again)

Today's essay comes with a caveat:  We are always, always, always having this conversation.  Production folk don't ever stop talking about it.  I do not expect it to be helpful a year from now as the marketplace changes.  But because a colleague asked (she's on the cusp of a major institutional purchase), I'll submit some observations that feel true to me in the moment.

Our school (70 production majors at a liberal arts college of 3500) was firmly committed to Avid. The company had market share. They had ProTools. They had the edge in server-based file sharing. They had great student pricing. Then, in February, Avid stock was delisted by NASDAQ following some financial shenanigans. Even though they’ve been reinstated, I think institutions are (rightly) a bit wary of financial dealings with them.