Seven Charles Sturt University (CSU) students from the School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst and Wagga Wagga are about to embark on a month-long exploration of the ‘Bollywood’ film industry in Mumbai, India.The study group will be led by CSU journalism lecturer Mr Harry Dillon, and is supported by CSU Global. The communication students are studying journalism, theatre/media, and television production.
Mr Dillon said the Bollywood course, run by Mumbai-based India Study Abroad Centre (ISAC), is relevant to any Arts student because of the rising international prominence of the Indian-language film industry and its increasing significance in global culture.
“It's particularly pertinent for students in communication and creative industries disciplines, especially in an era when all media platforms are converging online and the old media divisions are vanishing,” he said.
“Audiovisual communication, whether of factual or fictional content, is the norm for all communication professionals these days, and Bollywood is setting the standards along with some other national film industries.
“Professional communicators and creative industry participants need to be familiar with all major aspects of what is now a global media entertainment/information culture that is becoming near-borderless. With sectors and platforms that used to be separate now converging into digital broadband, it's increasingly difficult and pointless to separate the various old-media spheres in ways that used to make sense.”
Mr Dillon explained this is the first time this particular course has been run as a group activity within the CSU Faculty of Arts. He hopes to expand participant numbers in the future as Australians in general, and students in particular, become more aware of the implications of the so-called ‘Asian century’ and the need for Australia to be engaged with Asia beyond trade, diplomatic, and tourism links.
“In addition, cultural connections between Australia and its Asian neighbours are becoming increasingly important for the higher education sector to engage with. This will become a national, government-supported effort in the coming years,” Mr Dillon said.
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