On the occasion of its newest Diamond Jubilee, the University of the East—through the UE College of Arts and Sciences-Caloocan’s Department of Communications in cooperation with the UE CAS Caloocan-based student organization Association of Communication Students (ACTIONS)—is hosting an international webinar titled “In Search of the Truth: The Critical Role of Mass Media in a Global Pandemic”. This international webinar will be held on the fifth day of UE’s main 75th Foundation Anniversary week, September 29, 2021 (Wednesday), from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This momentous and timely webinar was conceived to bring together scholars from different countries to share their experiences and research outcomes on the critical role of mass media amid a global pandemic, along with talk on recent innovations, practical challenges encountered, and other allied disciplines. The holistic nature of the event is also envisioned as an opportunity for collaborative research.
There will be five main speakers on as many topics, namely Ms. Karen Davila of the Philippines, who will tackle the event’s eponymous topic of “The Critical Role of Mass Media in a Global Pandemic”; Dr. Bunty Avieson of Australia, who will take on “Wikipedia’s War on the Covid Infodemic”; Dr. Porranee Singpliam of Thailand, who will cover “A Cultural and Gendered Studies Approach to Understanding Inequalities amid Covid-19: A Case of Transgender and Sex Workers as Mediated through the Thai Media”; Ms. Esther Ho of Malaysia, who will speak about the “The Intersection between Mass Media/Pop Culture and the Formation of Religious Beliefs/Identities”; and Dr. Augustus Ceasar D. Latosa of the Philippines, who will discuss “Disinformation as Crisis within a Global Health Crisis”.
Ms. Davila is a well-known professional journalist and broadcast anchor who has received awards internationally, including an award from the New York Festival and the Ten Outstanding Young Men Awards for Broadcast Journalism in 2008. She has more than 20 awards in professional journalism from local and international organizations. She was one of People Asia Magazine’s People of the Year in 2013. She was also recognized by the Philippine Senate as one of the Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service (TOWNS).
Dr. Avieson is a senior lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney. A former journalist and award-winning author, she has published three novels, a novella and two memoirs, which have been variously translated into Japanese, German and Thai. Dr. Avieson spent a year in 2008 to 2009 in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, jointly funded by the United Nations and the newspaper Bhutan Observer, to teach journalists and editors, as well as to advise media stakeholders, as part of the country’s move to democracy. She also acted as a consultant to Reporters Without Borders’ Asia-Pacific desk. Her PhD explored the emerging media landscape in Bhutan, which continues to be a research interest, along with literary journalism, memoir and Wikipedia studies. Dr. Avieson teaches journalism in the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, but is currently on research leave to undertake a three-year, Australia Research Council-funded project, investigating the development of the Dzongkha Wikipedia in Bhutan.
Dr. Singpliam is the Assistant Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Deputy Director of the Bachelor of Arts in Language and Culture (BALAC) program of the Bangkok, Thailand-based Chulalongkorn University. She earned both her Ph.D. Cultural Studies and her M.A in Cultural Studies from the Graduate School of International Culture and Communication Studies of Japan’s Waseda University, and her BA in Language and Culture from the Faculty of Arts of Chulalongkorn University. Her research interests cover gender studies, Thai studies, media and cultural studies, body theory and feminist thoughts.
Ms. Ho is a Malaysian queer feminist theologian with a background in media, culture, gender and sexuality studies. She graduated with an MA Intercultural Theology from Germany’s Uni Göttingen and is currently teaching media studies at Monash University in Malaysia. Outside of class, Ms. Ho is fascinated by the possibilities when media, culture, and religious and gender identities intersect and shape who a person is.
Dr. Augustus Ceasar D. Latosa is a Senior Lecturer of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and a Professorial Lecturer of Far Eastern University-Manila. He is the Managing Editor of FRAMEwork: The Asia-Pacific Journal of Communication, and is a
John Harper English Language Specialist. Dr. Latosa earned his Ph.D. in Communication and New Media from National University of Singapore, and his MA in Speech Communication and BA in English Studies from UP Diliman.
This daylong international webinar will also feature five student researches and a faculty research study by UE CAS Caloocan constituents.
This UE webinar will be live-streamed on ACTIONS’ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/UEACTIONS).
Warrior students, faculty members and more, especially mass media enthusiasts, are encouraged to check this out!
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