Colloquium explores portrayals of minorities in media

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It's not every day that Virginia Commonwealth University students are shown “The Birth of a Nation in class. The controversial film provides just one of many talking points for the Diversity in the Media Colloquium, taught by Clarence Thomas, Ph.D., associate professor in journalism in the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture, part of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.

For the second year in a row, the diversity class has been offered to students of the Robertson School. The course is an offshoot of a "Minorities in the Media" class that Thomas started more than a decade ago.

This more modernized diversity course is designed to give mass communication students a sensitivity and awareness to the many groups in America that are often marginalized through the media.

"I want students to know how groups were treated historically in the media and why they were treated that way," Thomas said. "I want students to have an accurate knowledge of who's living in America. And I want them to know the damage that can come from the types of portrayals that we present in class."

Thomas said even though the notion of diversity is nothing new, mass media has historically ignored it. People who control the media, mostly white and male, often put out images that they perceive and those images are then treated either as fact or as the societal norm. Thomas' class challenges these ideas.

"Students going into these fields should know how to reflect that these [diverse] groups exist and reflect them in a respectful way," Thomas said.

The colloquium is a mixture of lectures from Thomas, discussions led by students and faculty guest speakers. One speaker presenting to the class this semester is Joyce Knight, director of VCU Disability Support Services. Knight said people with disabilities make up about 10 percent of the U.S. population. And with such a small group, accurate media representation is especially important.

"Stereotypes affect jobs, and other areas, so when a group is portrayed a certain way they remain marginalized," Knight said. "The media is responsible to present people in a positive and realistic light. People need to know it's OK to work beside a wheelchair user. They need to know it's OK to have someone in their household who is deaf or blind."

Knight believes that it is the responsibility of future students to prevent the spreading of hurtful stereotypes when they go into their chosen media fields. However, in a broader context Knight believes it is everyone's responsibility to understand why these stereotypes have no place in society.

"I want the students I present to to know that it's important that the media gives a well-rounded view of persons with disabilities," Knight said. "I want them to go beyond their initial image of people, and look at our abilities before our disabilities."

Other faculty speakers for this semester are Hong Cheng, Ph.D., director of the Robertson School, who discussed how Asians and Asian-Americans are portrayed by the media; Ashley Rose, an advertising professor, who discussed the portrayal of women in the media; Vivian-Medina Messner, a journalism professor, who discussed the portrayal of Hispanics in the media; and Thomas, who discussed the portrayal of African-Americans in the media. Professors Jeff SouthScott Sherman and Bill Farrar each discussed diversity as related to the specific professions of journalism, advertising and public relations, as well.

The Diversity in the Media Colloquium may be challenging for its students, but Thomas believes it is necessary. Students are encouraged to think about the choices they will make once they become storytellers and communicators for the public. In a classroom setting the ethical choice is usually clear, but when students embark on their careers in media, the choices may not be so simple. Thomas hopes the course will help prepare students for these tough decisions.

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