Instagramming Japan: Media Unfiltered will examine media ethics and literacy through the lens of visuals in one of the most iconic cities on the planet. Much of what we know about the world comes from mass media depictions, be those of the entertainment or news media. But how accurate are these images that come to mind? Walter Lippmann, a noted media scholar, wrote of the profound ability of our mass media to create “pictures in our head,” which contribute to our understanding of reality. Lippmann further argues that these media-created images influence our decision-making.
This study abroad experience will include classes in media literacy and media ethics. Students will travel across Japan to learn to "unsee" what they have only previously "seen" through media representation. One of the premises of Prof. Foxman’s work is that all media is a construction of reality, so this study abroad experience would be all about what the media "should" do (the ethics piece) and how we as audiences can learn to "deconstruct" what we see in the media (the literacy piece). This will be done through media analysis in Japan with inclusion of the media of our three professional areas: advertising, journalism, and public relations.
This program will include stays in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. Students will explore historical sites in Tokyo such as the Meiji Shrine and Asakusa, with visits to the Wall Street Journal Tokyo Bureau, Ad Museum Tokyo, Disneyland Sea Park, and experience a gaming related activity such as the Pokémon Center or Nintendo Museum. In Kyoto students will visit the Museum of Photography, Universal Studios, experience a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony, and visit the Yasaka Shrine. In Hiroshima you will visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Atomic Bomb Dome.
This is a traveling program where students will spend approximately one and a half weeks in Tokyo, one week in Kyoto and three days in Hiroshima before returning to Tokyo. Students will arrive and depart from Tokyo, Japan.
