Today's lectures were Media Law and History and Context of Journalism.
Media Law was an introduction to give students an idea of what to expect over the coming weeks, though my inquisitive mind, spurred on by a fear of prison showers, prompted me to ask questions which weren't due to be answered for some time. I shall be paying much attention to Media Law, not only to avoid incarceration but also to work out exactly what a journalist can get away with.
The afternoon held the lecture for HCJ. A rapid-fire history of Renaissance philosophers may seem to have little to do with journalism, but in fact the connections are numerous. Firstly, one role of a philosopher is to make sense of the world, condense their observations into some snappy and understandable text before flinging it at anyone who'll pay attention and/or money. Sounds familiar. Also, intensive philosophy study puts a sharp edge on the mind (albeit less in the manner of a barber with a strop and more like Hephaestus with a big hammer) . The ability to take an idea and discuss it in detail from several angles is a useful thing not only in journalism, but in everyday life. Finally, in the introduction to 'History of Western Philosophy', Bertrand Russell says that, "The studying of these questions, if not the answering of them, is the business of philosophy." This can be applied to the work of a journalist also. Though if the challenge is along the lines of exposing leathery ties between a senior politician and Max Mosely's favourite "nightclub", I'll do my best to disremember a certain libel case and provide an answer.
Yes - the point about HCJ is that we are on a degree (not a journalism training course) so we do need just to talk about some difficult material which will stretch y'all a bit and sort of shake you all up a bit to look at things in an entirely new way. It gets a bit more to the point soon because we look at some of the great works of journalism (early journalism to begin with then moving on to 19th century and other contemporary stuff. But the talk to day was pretty much what you'd be looking at on a degree such as PPE ('modern classics') which is the sort of degree traditionally that the BBC likes people to have - not because you have memorized the ontological argument or the laws of gravity or whatever but because by being exposed to this material you learn how to think quickly and incisively. I also think a course like this builds confidence The style we are using also shocks people out of school-like approach. I actually heard one student on the way to the lecture describe it as a 'lesson'. Hopefully they are now disabused. But it may take time.