Academics from
the Institute for International Journalism and the E.W. Scripps School of
Journalism traveled to Tirupati, India to discuss new media with scholars from
around the globe.
The conference, hosted
by the Women’s University’s (Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam) Departmentof Communications, sparked discussion on social media in India particularly through
a panel with OU Assistant Professor Dr. Jatin Srivastava and Dr. Yusuf Kalyango,
director of the International Institute, said Professor Mary Rogus.
According to
some of the research presented by scholars at the conference, social media is
changing societal norms in India, especially pertaining to women.
“They are
testing their boundaries with social media,” said Rogus, referring to women in
Indian society.
She explained
that research has shown that women are posting pictures that are “not demure,”
resulting in a potential shift in traditional values. However, scholars see
this as a positive, with India not cracking down on social media restrictions
as a result.
In addition to
the topic of women and social media, the conference encouraged conversation on
high education structures, which Srivastava found particularly interesting, he
said.
Comparatively,
Indian and American higher education structures are very different. Srivastava explained
that the students learn the same material but that universities in America are
much more autonomous and in India there is more of a collaborative mindset. Moreover,
he added that universities exchange ideas about evaluation and feedback systems
and how to make them more efficient.
“They not only
tell us how well we are doing but how they could generate new courses,” said
Srivastava.
After the
conference, OU representatives Professors Rogus, Kalyango and Srivastava did
some sight seeing at the Tirumala temple in Tirupati as well as visit the Taj
Mahal.
“The temple was
incredibly inspiring. The looks on their faces when they walked in were so
moving,” said Rogus, referring to those who worshipped at the temple that day.
Srivastava said
that he is always interested by how many people are willing to undergo the wait
every day for their faith. The temple is visited by 50 to 100,000 people a day,
with lines stretching out to the point that people will wait longer than five
hours to walk through the temple for five minutes.
“There are so
many people waiting in line but they are all calm, including the children.
There is no crying,” said Srivastava.
The entire trip
and conference was hosted by two former SUSI scholars, Professor Peddiboyina Vijaya
Lakshmi from the Women’s University and Dr. Anand Pradhan from the Indian
Institute for Mass Communication in Delhi, allowing the collaborative bonds of
these scholars to come full circle.
“Our hosts were
fabulous, they could not have taken better care of us,” said Rogus.
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