Whether you like to listen to some Lo-fi beats while you study or some classical tunes while you cook dinner, music is undoubtedly an element of our everyday lives. Similar to how music has an integral role in our lives, we, as consumers, also play a powerful role in the success of the music industry. In March 2021, we got the opportunity to speak to Kadijat Salawudeen, in our Digital Communities class at Northwestern University in Qatar taught by Dr. Minna Aslama Horowitz. She is a second-year graduate student studying International Communications at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. Currently, she works on the PR and Marketing teams at °1824, a vertical within Universal Music Group. She is also a freelancer with She Is The Music as part of the communications committee. Through this virtual discussion, we were able to gain insight into the music industry. Some of the topics which we discussed included, understanding what it takes to be part of it, the role of fans and anti-fans engagement, and the changes that needed to be made in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
NEW YORK, NY: On October 21, the Institute for International Communication in cooperation with The Center for Global Business Stewardship at St. John’s University hosted an academic-civic discussion roundtable entitled The Crisis in The Caucasus. The conversation specifically addressed the ongoing month-old war in the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) and the humanitarian crisis unravelling from those atrocities. Open to the public the virtual roundtable, moderated by Isabel Arustamyan (2nd year law student at St. John’s Law School), drew from the expertise of three invited panelists.
Dr. Artyom Tonoyan (Research Associate at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies) started the panel with providing a thorough historical overview of the current context and the plight of the Artsakh Armenians since the 1920s Soviet government’s decision to include the republic with its over 90% ethnic Armenian inhabitants as part of a newly formed republic of Azerbaijan. He emphasized that the details of that decision were still unclear to the historians, though speculations are abounding.
Answering a question on the religious component of the current war, the second panelist, Dr. Mark Movsesian (Frederick A. Whitney Professor & Co-Director, Center for Law & Religion, St. John’s Law School) stressed that while religion has played a role historically (Armenian church is one of the oldest in the world, adopting Christianity in 301AD several years before Rome’s conversion, while Azerbaijani are predominantly Muslim) and that there are attempts to present the current war from a religious perspective, there is much more at stake. Specifically, he emphasized the political element in the current war stemming from deep-rooted antagonisms, declining oil-based economy, and the threat of terrorist mercenaries employed by Azerbaijan as confirmed by the international media and the intelligence services of several governments (including France, Russia, and the U.S.).
Following up to the earlier points, Dr. Siobhan Nash-Marshall (Mary T. Clark Chair of Christian Philosophy, Manhattanville College) addressed the patterns of continuity from the Armenian Genocide of 1915 up to this war. As a philosopher and genocide scholar, Dr. Nash-Marshall emphasized the parallels between the present war and events of the early twentieth century in the same region. She touched on grand imperial designs of the last century that seem to be motivating the current attack on the Armenian population in Artsakh. She expressed hope that an average person learning about the tragedy in Armenia will be motivated to join the humanitarian call to end the atrocities and resolve matters peacefully.
The event drew strong participation from St. John’s community and general public and concluded with an engaging questions and answers session.
This week, a team of St. John’s students is participating in the ICSB Academy Pitch Competition in Taiwan. As they compete and learn, we reflect back on how last year’s competition in Argentina affected students’ who went on this special trip. Helene Diyabanza Peterson, who recently graduated from the College of Professional Studies, as Master of Science in International Communication, looks back at her experience in Buenos Aires:
The Institute for International Communication invited distinguished Soviet dissident and journalist, Prof. Leonid Goldin to speak at IICM on Monday April 9th. The purpose of the seminar, ostensibly about Russian propaganda, was to contextualize for students the methods and underlying models of power practiced by contemporary Russian media. Continue reading “Graduate Symposium: New Russia and the not so new propaganda”→
On December 13, 2017, graduate students of International Communication at St. John’s University presented a variety of innovative projects they developed throughout a class in Design Thinking at a Graduate Symposium. The event was organized and moderated by Dr. Minna Horowitz, who led the Design Thinking class during this fall semester. Continue reading “Design Thinking: Practicing Innovation”→
Photo by: Institute for International Communication
On 24 October 2016, the Institute for International Communication and Learning Communities hosted Anu Partanen, a Finnish-American journalist and author, giving insights to her book ‘The Nordic Theory of Everything – In Search of a Better Life’. Following, she discussed Nordic models of education, family and healthcare as well as questions from the audience with a panel of experts.
On 22 September 2016, St. John’s students and faculty were honored to welcome Isa Mustafa, Prime Minister of Kosovo, for a speech and discussion on the economic, social and political development of the young Republic. More than 200 students coming from areas of study such as law, communications or economics, were attending this special event arranged by the Institute for International Communication. Continue reading “Students discussing with Prime Minister of Kosovo”→
Photo by: Institute for International Communication
On 22 September 2016, Ulf Wahlberg gave a live video presentation from Sweden to St. John’s students on the upcoming 5G mobile standard and the consequences it will have for our future work. Wahlberg, Vice President of Industry and Research Relations within Group Function Technology at Ericsson in Stockholm, joined the company in 1984 and has ever since gained outstanding expertise in digital mobile systems development. The event was hosted by the Institute for International Communication and arose great interest of students and faculty as Wahlberg spoke to an audience of approximately 150 people gathered in D’Angelo Center on St. John’s University campus in Queens. Continue reading “Insights from Ericsson into 5G and the Future of Work”→