An effort to investigate the Marine Corps's "cultural sensitivity" training is just one project currently undertaken by the Global Media Project, an effort spearheaded by James Der Derian, professor of international studies. The GMP, which aims to use media and production methods to increase public awareness of global issues and conflicts, is looking to expand, having recently moved beyond the Watson Institute for International Studies to collaborate with other departments.
Increasingly, Brown students are lending their support to the GMP. A popular senior seminar offered this semester, IR 180 Sec. 95: "Global Media: History/Theory/Production," requires students to explore how media is used in international affairs. As part of the Marine Corps research, lieutenant colonels affiliated with the Eisenhower Series College Program recently visited to speak to students. This marked the first time officers from the program visited an Ivy League school.
The Marine Corps research is one of the GMP's principal efforts. Funded by a Solomon Grant and aided by Professor of Anthropology Catherine Lutz and Assistant Professor of International Studies Keith Brown, the research will examine how American troops are trained prior to traveling to various countries - specifically, looking at training designed to help troops better understand a given country's culture.
Members of the GMP filmed the training process in New England before Marines were shipped to Al-Anbar, Iraq. "It allows us to question, Can the military be more peace-keeping in stability operations?" Der Derian asked. To supplement this research, the GMP has scheduled a workshop in late April that will "convene military and civilian experts to discuss from research perspectives as well as personal experience the theoretical, practical and ethical issues involved in the production, consumption, and circulation of 'cultural knowledge,'" according to the Watson Institute's Web site.
An expanding GMPOver 50 students vied for one of 20 spots in IR 180, Sec. 95. "Its great because you don't only have international relations concentrators in the class," Der Derian said. "About one-third are in international studies, one-third have a focus in production and one-third have a focus in the theory of media, so you get a nice blend of knowledge and skill. There is a lot of creativity." Students in the class are required to produce literature reviews, video blogs and a short documentary film that will count as their final exam.
The GMP - which receives funding from the Watson Institute and the Carnegie Corporation, headed by former Brown President Vartan Gregorian - allows collaboration among research areas including politics, culture and identity, global security, political economy and development and global environment.
In many GMP projects, Der Derian and others use media outlets other than film, including independent television networks such as PBS and Link TV, video blogs and podcasts. In addition, they provide speakers for radio shows like "Open Source with Christopher Lydon," which airs on the Boston-based network WGBH. These speakers discuss global issues at the forefront of the Watson Institute's work.
The GMP provides a unique and non-traditional way to bring these issues to the general public, said Associate Director and Watson Fellow Geoffrey Kirkman '91.
In the future, those involved with the GMP hope its research and projects will lead international funding agencies to work to increase the GMP's influence and expand its efforts.
