In today's world we can't imagine life without media. Same way it becomes vital to know all minute details about media and mass communication. As in Post- Truth world, media culture plays significant role in society.
An equal significant of it, we had a guest lecture of Dr Jay Mehta on Media studies. (15 Jan -2019) Mainly he discussed about the basic knowledge of Mass Communication. Like it's history to modern development. Also it's importance in present time. But as usual his uniqueness won everyone's attention.
Furthermore, he shared his views on topics like...
• Meaning of Mass Communication
• Journalism
• Television
• Radio
• E - Media
• Cinema
• Advertising
As we know that mass communication stands for a large scale of information. We can say that it is a kind of platform which serves information/ tries to communicate with commons on common platforms.
In the case of Journalism, he gave some important tips to ponder over. Mostly as a career opportunities. Correspondingly, How TV kept on changing. Like, one show to every show. Now a days people can watch all shows at his/her time.
Similarly Radio also plays vital role in spreading news. It has a novel quality to serve stuff. And one should not forget that it is it's narration which makes this platform more interesting. Same way E-Media gives all materials but it has more concern of fakeness.
These media platforms has created direct threat to the Cinema. But yet it has an interesting effects to communicate with people. Yes, largely people sees it as an entertainment but it has so many hidden things to tell. In the case of advertisement, we can say most powerful weapon for communication. Because it has that uniqueness with simplicity, kind of temptation which drives people hurriedly.
Overall it was a great session to attend. At last I would like to thanks Dr Dilip Barad Sir and Vaidehi Ma'am for inviting him.
As we all know that 'Picture speaks louder than words.' So obviously it will give more effect to the audience in understanding the concept. Same way by connecting the dots one might get deeper understanding of particular belief.
After an enlightened discussion on the novel 'The White Tiger' and the film 'Slumdog Millionaire,' it becomes necessary to show the learning / understanding. For a detailed information related to the task click here...
The representation of India in the novel 'The White Tiger' and the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' ( For a detailed information about it click on it) is quite similar, in a way portrays the real India / rural India. Which shows the 'terrible' situation of people and that is much ignored in most Bollywood movies. ( We find rural / pastoral India as a more glamourized and romanticized. ) But reality is something different like,
• Class Struggle/ Caste Struggle • Exploitation of Children • Sex Abuse • Crimes • Police Brutality • Illiteracy • Invisible 'Manipulation' of labourers by the Landlords • Area of 'Darkness' • Slavery • Oozing Gutters • Exploitation of Poor by Political Parties/ Richer
Notwithstanding, only Holidaymakers enjoys the pleasure of pastoral background, because they are unaware about the real predicaments. Hence we need more Dickens and Adiga, who indirectly works for the betterment of society.
Let's see some similarities between the novel 'The White Tiger' and the film 'Slumdog Millionaire' :
1 - Narrative structure -
#Wanted poster - #KBC Show
Yes, the narrative technique is quite similar. In the novel we find one type of interrogation scene, an illiterate man sees the poster of criminals. But he asks somebody else ( who is in suit with Red Bag - Balram ) for an explanation about these criminals. In reply 'Ashok' tells that two are terrorists and one is a 'hero' who is a driver. And he has caught these criminals. In addition he criticises the Police System of India as the poster has not given a proper information. In a way he 'slaps' that man Furthermore this whole thing takes place for the money - to be a master.(as society considers money as an incessant happiness)
Correspondingly, film also starts with an interrogation scene in the jail. Where one constable asks 'Jamal' about how he has been able to give all the answers correct as he belongs to the slums and services as a tea boy ! Moreover, we see the scene of money in the screen, which shows the deep desire to be rich. Suddenly screen fades with a slap. Again we notice satire on Police as they asks irrational questions. They are also in the pocket of somebody else. Similarly the whole narration of the film is based on the theme of KBC.
2 - Indianness -
In the novel and also in the film we find indianness.
• Train : As it connects whole India, it will be difficult to think India without Train.
• Two Brothers / Jealousy : This theme also represents the larger spectrum of Hindi Cinema.
• Cricket : The most rated ' Keeda' ( Bug ) in India. One hypothesis tells that, ultimately it is all about money / luxury.
• Poetic Justice : Indians are habituated to see the cycle of an event which ends happily Or with catharsis. But the novel remains open ended.
• Tea : Representation of Tea and Tea Boy.
• Crowded Places : Almost every places 'overflows.'
• Corruption : In all the fields.
• Regional Tension.
• Magical Interpretation 3 - List of questions asked in the film. If you have to replace or add a few questions, which questions would you like to add. Remember, question shall be in- tune with the screenplay of the film.
4 - On what grounds can you deconstruct the film with reference to post colonial tools/ theories.
The film 'Slumdog Millionaire' represents India in more derogatory way, though the situation seems quite similar to the film. But yet there are some points which we can ponder by applying the theory of Post Colonialism.
When we apply Post colonial theories that time we find more insulting representation of India. As the director of the movie belongs to the White World. There is one scene of the Taj Mahal, where children shown as a thieves where's foreigners shown more humble and kind. Moreover, in most of the film director uses cricket as an artifact which represents colonial mindset. Another thing is a corruption. Ultimately we can say that this award giving also stands in the category of colonialism.
Apart from all these, India is different, which lacks in the movie. 5 - Compare with texture and treatment of subject content in film and novel.
Mainly structure remains same in both a movie as well as in a novel. When we see texture of both, like in a novel protagonist has genius qualities from childhood. But lack of opportunities ruins his study. A boy who remains in the search of money. They are two brothers - rivals. After lots of struggle, murder he reaches to richness. Same way in movie also we find same texture, like two different brothers. And in the search of money.
The treatment of the movie and novel is also quite same. Both director and writer have observed all the things minutely. Like, representation of poverty, sex abuse, crime, exploitation of children, brutality of police, family issues, poor condition of villagers, casteism, and etc. 6 - How far do you agree with the India represented in the novel The White Tiger ? The representation of India is quite similar to what real India is. But yes we can't deny the development of India too. But there are places where still situations is something horrible. Even people are unable to get daily food, basic education, some social problems like dowry, rituals which ruins life of an individuals. Correspondingly corruption prevails everywhere in India, disgraceful situation of a police system and much more. 7 - Do you believe that Balram's story is the archetype of all stories of 'rags to riches' ? Yes, it seems that this book stands in the category of self help book. In real life we find so many entrepreneurs who has lived some horrible life then they reached at this height. While we look this archetype, Balram's story also get fits in the category of rags to riches. As from his mediocre childhood he reaches to richness.
Most of the time student faces problems when they write an answer in the English Language. They find themselves in an entanglement. Because when we talk about the right structure of writing an answer, normally this things lack in it. So, it becomes inevitable to overcome from these kinds of drawbacks.
By the same token today we had one session on academic writing. Where Ndoricimpa Clement (A resource person) discussed about How to write an argumentative type answer...? In that topic he stressed on :
• To be explicit about the organization. And If possible use rhetorical structure.
• Language should be argumentative rather than only a coherent text.
Accordingly, there are three main stages of writing an argumentative essay.
• Thesis : Which consists the proposition and background related to the question.
• Supporting Arguments : Give textual evidence.
• Conclusion : Be affirm in your argument and synthesize it properly.
Furthermore he talked about different linguistic devices.
To make answer coherent, these all devices becomes necessary to use.
• Cohesive devices : It links one part of a text to another. Cohesion is the glue that holds a piece of writing together and it connects one paragraph to another. There are two types of cohesion -
α - Grammatical cohesion
It creates link between sentences in a text through the use of the grammatical resources. Like...Reference, Substitution, Conjunction.
β - Lexical cohesion
In which lexical / vocabular items unifies a text. Such as Reiteration (To show two lexical items are related), Synonymy (Words that have similar meaning interchangeably - e.g., archaic / obsolete / primitive), Antonymy (Relationship of oppositeness - e. g., A mighty / A little), Hyponymy ( A relation of inclusion - e. g., Computers / desktop / laptop ) and the fifth one is Meronymy. (A lexical item represents the part and others represents the whole )
Undoubtedly , it was quite informative session to attend. Thanks to Dr Dilip Barad Sir for arranging these kinds of session.
#Thanks to Professor Kishore Joshi, From Department of Economics, MKBU.
One famous quote tells that one should not judge others by outer views because most of the time it gives wrong judgements. Rather we can say that, a biased perception keeps us in a dullness. Same way what we think about European Countries it might not be the case. It shows the lack of reading and knowledge of person.
Surprisingly, Prof. Saeed Paivandi and Prof. Fontanini Christine (From University of Lorraine, France.) visits Dept. Of English. In the beginning of their talk, they says that we prefer two way talk. Which shows the quality of an interaction.
Mainly they speaks about social issues of France. Like a vast gap between rich and poor. They also suffers from same problem like India is suffering...Unequal distribution of money, unemployment for the poor/ and also for educated. In addition they talks about their education ratio. Again it gives same picture, like most of the girls are in the courses of humanity and Medicine. (Not in a Surgery) Where's most of the boys are in engineering, it shows that higher salary for men not for women. Ultimately it shows that patriarchy still rules there. Furthermore, they concerns about an increasing level of violence also.
In short we can say that most of the time they considers themselves as a most civilized society but it is not so, reality is totally different. But yes, when we meet some other people, they helps in widening our perceptions related to social and religious beliefs.
Overall it was an interesting session to attend. Thanks to Dr Dilip Barad Sir for inviting them at Department of English.
Now a days it became easy to communicate with mass, because of the various Mass Media Platforms. These all platforms turned into a kind of a 'Boon' for the commons. After the captivating discussion on Mass Media and its Importance, it becomes necessary to reflect the learning and as result of it, students has to give the name of any Mass Media Platform which they uses for communication. For the further details related to the task click here....
1- Which is your favorite Mass Media platform for the communication ? Why do you like it ? What are its drawbacks ?
My favourite Mass Media platform for the communication are all the social media platforms. Why not a favorite...? Because each has it's own limitations. But I like the most #YouTube, #Facebook and #Whatsapp.
As most important thing about all the media is the accessibility of it. 'After the internet', things turned easy for an isolated too. These all the platforms not only provides an information but it connects one person to the other. Anybody can share things with everyone. If we take an example of education, there are so many persons who makes learning easy/ interesting / easily accessible with the help of Facebook. In addition those who have read an interesting thing, they can mention others so they can also easily access. As we know that #Facebook is a global platform, hence it helps in widening the horizon of mind. As for the 'real' understanding, 'application' becomes necessary. There are some teachers who teaches lessons in class, shares related concept on Facebook / Whatsapp, which helps in deep understanding. So teacher remains more connected with the students, and as a result of it communication becomes easy.
While talking about drawbacks of it, most of the people concerned about their privacy and data and also about the originality of content.
After the new changes in syllabus of NET exam, it becomes inevitable to know things clearly.
As a result of it, Department of English, MKBU., has organized one session where Prof. Vedant Pandya talked on NET paper 1. He stressed on a deep understanding of a subject rather than the process of a mug up. Moreover, he discussed various components like,
1 Teaching Aptitude
2 Research Aptitude
These both above components intertwined with each other. Which helps in higher order thinking/ learning. As a result of it, grasping capability increases.
3 Comprehension
Here this comprehension gives more value to the content, vocabulary, and structure.
4 Communication
It is the most important part among the all aptitude. Compared to 'Verbal' communication, 'Writing' also requires same importance.
5 Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
It becomes necessary to include basic maths in learning, because minimum mathematical literacy makes things more significant.
6 Logical Reasoning
For the 'real' truth, logic becomes necessary. By logical reasoning, we get new dimension of an understanding.
7 Data Interpretation
8 ICT
As we all know that it has so many benefits in the process of teaching and learning it becomes vital to introduced in the education.
9 People, Development, Environment
10 Higher Education System
Where he gives information about a structure and a process of education system. Like SFC, GIA, Govt.Colleges, traditional and specialized university and etc. Furthermore he speaks about an independent university culture. For example Agricultural, Petroleum, Sports and etc.
Altogether it was a quite refreshing session to attend. And a big thanks to Dilip Barad Sir, for arranging these kinds of lectures. (Who always provides A 'Catalysis')
In 21st century, Digital Literacy became necessary for everyone. As a result of it, it becomes inevitable to include technology in education system. After an enlightened discussion on the use of web tools in teaching / learning it becomes vital to know about the students views / understanding on integrating the technology in education. For detailed information related to the given task click here...
1- Why is it necessary to use Technology in education?
When we talk in terms of future generations, only technology can provide better future. There are so many benefits of using technology in classrooms.
• Kindling : It is the technology which makes learning interesting. As we know that " learning " depends on the children/ learner. Technology works as an attractive tool. As a result of it, it increases the curiosity of the child. Where's traditional methodology seems boring compared to the present day.
• Digital Players : Most of the children plays video games. They learns/ plays faster than adults. It shows their focusing power. So if lessons are in the forms of games then it will be more easier for them to understand.
• At their own pace : Sometimes learners can't compete with the teaching/learning speed of a teacher. By using such a technical tools student can learn at anytime/ anywhere.
• No boundaries : It seems that there are so many problems in our education system. But now a days anyone can access any knowledge. And internet has played vital role in it. Distance learning became possible through it.
• It keeps students connected : By staying connected with the learners, teacher can guide them easily at anytime. Teacher works as a stimulus.
• Globalization : It is the technology which makes learning global. It helps learner in competing with the world.
• Eco Friendly : As we all knows that there are so many fields where paper work remains in the center. But by using technology we can overcome that concerns.
2 - What is the difference between 'using' and 'integrating' technology ?
There is complete difference between the 'using' and 'integrating' the technology. Like one can use technology as a sake of 'using.' Teacher remains in the center. Lots of time spents on how to use technology. It just delivers information. Learning becomes subsidiary. Where's in 'integrating' the technology, technology used as a routine learning, engages the students, mostly students remains in the center, new thinking takes place. In short we can connect " using " as a LOT and "Integrating" as a HOT.
3 - How can we integrate technology ?
As we know that integration depends on the learners, we can engage students for collaboration. Basically Allow students to use computer. There are other web tools which can be used in an integration. Like podcast, multimedia, smartphones, tablets. By using blogs, web quest, virtual field trip and flipped learning students can integrate the technology. They can research easily.
4 - Can technology replace teacher ?
It is a vital question to think on it. Because there are so many places where technology has taken the place of human being. Like in industry, handicrafts, agriculture, and etc. According to me if teacher is well equipped then technology can't take place of a teacher. Because technology gives just information, where's teacher explains the concept by connecting the dots. As we know that human being have feelings which helps learner in learning. But yes techno friendly teacher can take place of an out dated teacher. Who always denies new things and tries to control the students.
5 - Write in brief on David Crystal's views on 'effect of new technology on English language,' ' biggest challenge for English language teacher in the times of internet, ' 'texting is good for English language.'
• Effect of New technology on English :
David Crystal is a British linguist and author. According to him new technology has influenced English language. For that he gives an example of a Printing Press. Like communication changed by varieties of language : Newspaper. Next example he gives of a telephone, and tells that how our speaking style changed. People were thought that it will create disaster and people will not go to talk. But situation is different. Further he talk about Television and Radio. At last he says that how internet has changed the domain. Altogether we can say that he looks positively towards the technology because he mentions Google, www, email, text messages, blogging, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter as a learning tools. The main point is that abbreviation of language has not affected English language.
• Biggest challenge for English language teacher :
This is the era of pace, where everything happens faster. So teacher has to be up to date as quick as possible. There are so many languages and it's different accents makes things more complicated. But one should know that English is a global language, it can be different like An Indian, African, Australian, etc. Language moves faster. But internet has helped a lot in understanding. In addition he tells that teaching is the most difficult job to do.
• Texting is good for English :
By practicing one can learn English better. One can text the messages, he argues that abbreviation has nothing to do with English language. Nor it affects the progress of students because students will not use an abbreviation in Exams.
6 - Name one web - tool which can help in development of all four L-S-R-W skills. If possible explain how it works.
By blogging we can develop these skills. For example we can use it as a digital dairy and for that we needs vocabulary, grammar and other things. We can listen videos, it helps in reading also as we can read from anywhere/ anytime.
