Community views: obstacles to globalising media research

First Published on the website of the Global Media Studies Network (https://globalmediastudies.network/blog/obstacles-to-global-diversity/), MARCH 15, 2023

By Cherian George and Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis

When we asked our network how to make media studies research more globally diverse and inclusive, thoughtful responses arrived from every continent, from senior academics, early-career scholars, and PhD students. They talked about linguistic barriers; the lack of interest in the non-west among the field’s tastemakers; how a narrow understanding of theoretical rigour marginalises work on the Global South; and how performance metrics adopted by non-western universities undermines their own ability to serve their communities’ needs.

Continue reading

‘Top-tier’ journals: Does a global reputation mean a global orientation?

By Cherian George and Minos-Athanasios Karyotakis

Academia as an industry has come to rely on journal impact factors as convenient proxy measures of faculty members’ research quality. As competition intensifies — among individuals, departments, and universities —  such bibliometrics have grown in importance. At many institutions, researchers are pushed to publish in journals that are highly ranked.

Many scholars of non-western societies have long noted, though, that “top-tier” journals, while international in reputation, are far from global in orientation. This is an issue that we and our colleagues in the Global Media Studies Network are keen to discuss.

Continue reading