Jersey City, N.J. – Saint Peter’s College Department of History and Department of Communication will host the Third Annual Media and History Conference on Thursday, April 15, 2010. Taking place on the College’s Jersey City campus in Pope Lecture Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the theme for this year’s conference is “Whose Truth? Reporting About Diverse Cultures.”
Patrick S. Washburn, Ph.D., professor of journalism at Ohio University, will deliver the opening keynote address at 10:00 a.m. and speak on, “The Rise and Fall of the Warriors: Black Newspapers in the 20th Century.” His dissertation, A Question of Sedition: The Federal Government’s Investigation of the Black Press During World War II was named by Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly as one of the 35 most significant mass communication books published in the twentieth century. He has won numerous journalism and mass communication awards, and has spoken at the Smithsonian Institution, among other prestigious establishments.
Two panels will be held at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The first will address the subject, “Unassimilated: The Unique Character of the Dual-Language Media of Color,” and will be chaired by Rev. Mark DeStephano, S.J., chair of the modern and classical languages and literature department at the College. The second will discuss the topic, “Guys and Dolls: Class and Gender Differences in the Press,” and will be chaired by Cynthia Walker, Ph.D., Saint Peter’s associate professor of communication. The College’s faculty and students will serve as panelists for both discussions.
At 2:00 p.m., writer Jeff Yang will provide the closing keynote address, “Reflecting Reality: The Long, Slow Journey Toward a Truly Multicultural Media.” Jeff Yang is the Asian pop columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle, and also serves as a business and media consultant on marketing to Asian-American consumers for Iconoculture, Inc. Yang is also the former publisher of A Magazine, which was once the largest circulating English-language Asian-American magazine in the United States; he is credited with producing the first Asian-American television show, Stir. A Harvard University graduate, Yang has written several books, as well as articles for the Village Voice, VIBE, Spin, and Condé Nast Portfolio.
As part of the conference, Saint Peter’s O’Toole Library is featuring the exhibit, “Metro Area Diversity: Media for the Masses,” displaying award-winning articles and photographs from the local community and ethnic media. Produced by Beatrice Mady of Saint Peter’s fine arts department, this exhibit will be on display through Sunday, April 18, 2010.
Saint Peter’s College, inspired by its Jesuit, Catholic identity, commitment to individual attention and grounding in the liberal arts, educates a diverse community of learners in undergraduate, graduate and professional programs to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice in our ever-changing urban and global environment.