The new Communication and Media major seeks to study the “multitudes of communication more generally,” said program Undergraduate Advising Head, Prof. Laura Miller (SOC) in an Oct. 16 interview with The Justice. The Brandeis website states that students enrolled in this major will engage with “the theory and practice of communication: message creation, form and content; technologies and channels of delivery; reception and interpretation; and the larger impact on our society and culture.” Miller explained that the choice to name the program as “Communication” rather than “Communications” was very intentional. Brandeis’ new program seeks to incorporate and study communication and media beyond public relations, marketing and other popular uses for the program. The major will take both a theoretical and hands-on approach to course material. Miller’s hope is that as the program progresses, internships and in-field experience will be integrated into students’ learning experiences, similar to other programs such as the Journalism minor, which provides access to local newsrooms in the classroom. 

Miller explained that this major is not so much bringing something new to Brandeis, but rather culminating facets of the University that have existed for a long time. She views this program as an excellent example of interdisciplinary education. While the major will live in the Sociology department and is being led by Miller and Prof. Janet McIntosh (ANTH), professors across many departments are on the Steering Committee. The core courses for the major are “Communication and Media” and “Mass Communication Theory,” which Miller has taught for many years. Although these courses sprouted from the Anthropology and Sociology departments, Miller assured that a vast number of disciplines will provide courses that will count toward the major. Miller explained that this major will produce “ways for what seems to be dissimilar fields, such as sociology and theater, to speak to one another.” The course list for Communication and Media has not been finalized. 

This interdisciplinary approach relates to the diverse job market that a Communication and Media major provides for students. Miller emphasized that this major “prepares [students] for an endless number of careers.” For instance, Miller mentioned advertising, publishing, music and journalism. The job market is looking for candidates who know how to communicate, said Miller. 

This major is not a surprising advancement given the circumstances that led to its creation. Miller has always had an innate interest for the subject and explained that she and other faculty began speaking about creating a Communication and Media major in 2008. The last decade and a half has been filled with setbacks and postponements but Miller explained that its emergence now is a combination of multiple factors. One factor is the great number of students creating Independent Interdisciplinary Majors that were essentially the study of Communication and Media. The process of creating an IIM is quite extensive. It involves creating a cohort of three professors from different departments. The student must propose their major to the professors by the fall of their junior year and  work closely with them to create a course plan and finally embark on a capstone project that will finish in their senior year. Miller explained that the influx of majors such as these was “simply unmanageable.”

In conversation with this great amount of student interest is the current climate of media within society. Miller explained that the world is in a “time in history where we see the power of media and communication.” She referenced Artificial Intelligence and its contribution to a rise of ”disinformation and misinformation.” Along with AI, Miller discussed the power of media on the current generation and how there is a direct link between social media and social change. Miller expects this major will give students the skills to navigate and excel in the changing world. 

Miller hopes the major ”satisfies students’ intellectual interests” and that it fosters “faculty collaborating with one another.” She explained that the novelty of the program “has not yet bound them to tradition” and that she and the steering committee wish to incorporate student suggestions as much as possible. They are “not working off a formula and the newness and openness is exciting,” said Miller. 

While hopes are high for the major, as is the workload for Miller and the Steering Committee, Miller emphasized the “time and effort it takes to organize and oversee the arrangements” for a program such as this, especially with the hopes for internship and hands-on experience in the future. She says students can’t just “go find something and have a great time.” It is work and time that produces a functional and exceptional program. 

With further planning on the horizon, Miller is not disheartened. Students have already begun reaching out to Miller about starting the major and producing the best course load to prepare for declaration next year. She encourages students interested in pursuing the program to reach out to her.