Culture and Communication

Campus Location: Chennai

Located in Information and Communication systems today, instead of building communities, accentuate divisions; widen the gap between the rich and the poor and distort reality in order to maintain the unjust power structure. Communication technology is in the hands of a few who use the communication media for their own commercial and political interests. In Tamil Nadu as in other places, the vast majority of the masses are subject to media manipulation, worse still they are kept ignorant of such manipulation. They have lost the power and right to information and Communication., So Culture and Communication aims at becoming a meaning-giving force within the structure and dynamics of the communication systems of Tamil Nadu., Our Objectives :, 1. Foster a critical understanding of the media industry which distorts reality;, 2. Present this critique to various groups of people and enabling them to see the manipulation they are subjected to;, 3. Facilitate a two-way and horizontal communication where people participate in the evolution, dissemination and evaluation of their own messages;, 4. Evolve alternative systems and channels of communication which uphold human dignity, affirm and revitalise authentic human culture and thus pave the way for what will be truly People's Media., Future Plans :, In the light of our action-reflection-action process we dream and plan big. Here are some of our dreams and plans., 1. A Post-Graduate Diploma Course in Journalism at St. Joseph's College, Trichy, 2. A Unit on Development Communication as part of Rural Action Development and Research centre at Arul Anandar College, Madurai, 3. A Full-fledged under-graduate degree/postgraduate diploma programme on communication at Loyola College, Madras, 4. Resource Centre on Communication, 5. Research on 'Media Effects on Children', 6. Children's Theatre, 7. A Students' journal for the age group 11-17, 8. A text book on Media Education with a manual for teachers, 9. Publication of books on People's Media and Social change, 10. Analysis of Popular Tamil Movies, 11. Theru-K-Koothu, Programmes, Creative Writers Workshop : With the aim of training the youth in value-oriented writing the workshop is conducted in different places in Tamil Nadu over the weekends. This is a 3-year project and each year a different literary form (Short-story, Poetry or Drama) is taken up., 'Annam'-Theological Tracts : In the realm of theology lay people have been relegated to the receiving end. Through this project they are helped to become active participants in theologizing and the result of their discussion is published in the form of tracts, Annam. These tracts facilitate further reflection and action., Alternative Indigenous Media : Its aim is to impart to select groups of rural youth an awareness of the dynamics of the Communication systems, the influence of the media on the society at large and them in particular and enable them to evolve people-centred, participatory indigenous media. The workshop will be conducted in different places to different groups. Together with these groups, Culture and Communication will enter into a search for People's Media., Media Education : Students are easy victims of the onslaught of media. To make them perceive the 'mediated reality' and what the media do to them in terms of their values and behaviour, Media Education workshops are conducted at schools and colleges., Workshops : Culture and Communication offers workshops on Journalism, Dramatics and Audio-visual productions for youth and teachers during the summer. Time and again it offers special workshops on Effective Communication for grass-root workers., Seminars : Today a number of cultural activists and media personnel are engaged in 'people-centred communication'. To pool their resources and learn from each others' experience Culture and Communication organises annual seminars. 'People's media in Cultural Action' and 'Christian communication for Human Development' were the themes of the seminars in the past two years., Research : Realising the need for an ongoing reflection and research in order to sharpen our communication strategies Culture and Communication is engaged in various types of research. The experience gained through various activities becomes data for our research projects. Already a research on Film and Semiotics has been done. Another research on grass-root communication has been undertaken., Loyola College, Madras - 600 034, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600 034, Phone No :-(+91-44) 826 0292. Use Google Maps for turn-by-turn driving directions to the campus.