Internationalizing Media Studies

Book excerpt: The explosion of transnational information flows, made possible by new technologies and institutional changes (economic, political and legal) has profoundly affected the study of global media. At the same time, the globalization of media combined with the globalization of higher education means that the research and teaching of the subject faces immediate and profound challenges, not only as the subject of enquiry but also as the means by which researchers and students undertake their studies. Edited by a leading scholar of global communication, this collection of essays by internationally-acclaimed scholars from around the world aims to stimulate a debate about the imperatives for internationalizing media studies by broadening its remit, including innovative research methodologies, taking account of regional and national specificities and pedagogic necessities warranted by the changing profile of students and researchers and the unprecedented growth of media in the non-Western world. Transnational in its perspectives, Internationalizing Media Studies is a much-needed guide to the internationalization of media and its study in a global context.