Building on the success of the inaugural 2011 event, this one of a kind international conference will assemble thinkers – academics, editors, students, journalists, communication professionals — to examine how media coverage of higher education is shaping the organization, operation and perceptions of these institutions in a global context.

We’re truly excited to be welcoming a diverse range of distinguished speakers in addition to offering conference attendees workshops, café conversations, and plenty of opportunities to deliberate, network, and generate ideas in a unique setting.

Click here for all the details and let us know what you think:

http://worldviewsconference.com/2013/worldviews_agenda_2013.htm

We hope you can join us at Worldviews 2013!… Read more

A group of academics from around the world intend to commit Sociology at every panel, keynote and even during coffee breaks at Worldviews 2013.

“Keep Calm and Commit Sociology” reads the promotional buttons produced by a group of academics who took Stephen Harper to task today over recent comments about the sources of terrorism while also promoting their annual conference. The buttons are a riff on the 1939 poster designed by the British government to raise the morale of the public in the aftermath of widely predicted mass air attacks.

On June 19th – 21st, academics from around the world will be descending upon Toronto to discuss issues of higher education, technology and the media during Worldviews 2013: Global Trends on Higher Education and Media.

“Our conference examines new global trends in media and higher education,” said Joel Westheimer, University Research Chair in the Sociology of Education at the University of Ottawa. “Mr. Harper’s recent comments on the sources of terrorism speaks to a kind of anti-intellectualism that has come to characterize his government. The very purpose of our conference is to discuss a number of sociological issues in higher education that are relevant to all Canadians.”

Worldviews 2013 will highlight the importance of committing sociology by examining the changing nature of higher education, media coverage and looking at the way technology is changing the two sides of the equation.

“There is a war on information in our country,” said Westheimer. “On the media, on academics, on libraries, on archives, on the census – the list keeps going. We need to understand the ‘why’ of things, and cutting away our ability to make informed decisions will invariably derail our country.”

Worldviews 2013 will be taking place at the University of Toronto, June 19 to June 21. Buttons are available from the Worldviews website for $5 a piece and proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Sociological Association’s student research award.

Order your pins here: http://worldviewsconference.bigcartel.com/

Share the news and download our custom Facebook cover photo and Twitter avatar!

For more information:

Caitlin Kealey
media@worldviewsconference.com

613-818-7956
www.worldviewsconference.com … Read more

Let’s talk about it. 

Save the date and join Worldviews 2013 on Tuesday, April 16 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. for a special pre-conference debating the interplay between higher education, media, and society. This free event will feature a short keynote presentation, panel debate, and reception at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto.

Featuring: 

• Keynote speaker: Tony Burman, Velma Rogers Graham Research Chair, Ryerson University, former Chief Strategic Advisor for the Americas, Al-Jazeera, and former Editor-in-Chief, CBC News
• Moderator: Rick Salutin, Canadian novelist, playwright, journalist, and critic
• Janice Gross Stein: Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto and Associate Chair and Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and Negotiation,  University of Toronto’s Department of Political Science
• Clifford Orwin: Professor of Political Science, Classics, and Jewish Studies, University of Toronto, Fellow of St. Michael’s College and Senior Fellow of Massey College
• Scott Jaschik: Editor, Inside Higher Ed
• Melonie Fullick: PhD candidate in postsecondary education policy, York University

They will explore the increasing emphasis being placed around the world on:

• Shifting the cost of education to students
• Getting students in and out of higher education in shorter time periods
• The increasing focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics related subjects, and criticism of the liberal arts
• The exclusive focus on higher education as a means for job training
• Expanding online learning as either a complement or alternative to on-campus learning 

Why are these ideas being proposed by so many and whose interests do they serve? Is this pragmatic agenda a “war on knowledge” or a “war” on specific types of knowledge and specific types of education? Some media coverage has asked constructive questions, but much of the discussion has been superficial. So where do we go from here? 

Register for this special pre-conference event on April 16 and join the discussion!

Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: The Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School of Global Affairs – 1 Devonshire Place

Registration is required (and free!), so save the date and register here!

About Worldviews 2013

Our conference, scheduled for June 19-21, 2013, will explore the world stage, where booming enrollments in higher education have reached nearly 200 million students. About 75% belong to institutions in industrializing countries. Worldviews 2013: Global Trends in Media and Higher Education will bring the stories behind these developments, and the local and global media who cover them, into focus. Held at the University of Toronto, the conference will host experts from the Americas, Pacifica, Asia, Africa and Europe. Our aim is to collect perspectives from the podium and the floor, and keep this important – and now global – discussion rolling.

Join the conversation:
www.worldviewsconference.com
On Twitter: @worldviewscon
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Worldviews
#wv2013

For more information, please contact:

Laura Ziemba
416-712-0412… Read more

Each fellowship is worth $1,000 (CDN) and can be used to help cover the cost of travel to the conference and the modest cost of accommodation at the official conference hotel, the Holiday Inn Bloor Yorkville. The fellowship also includes complimentary conference registration. All sessions will be open to the media.

Journalists who cover higher education issues in mainstream or niche media are welcome to apply.

Please send an email outlining your experience in higher education journalism, links to 2 articles you have published, and your email contact information to: Laura Ziemba

Applications should be received by May 3, 2013.

Those chosen to receive a fellowship will be notified by May 15, 2013.

The organizers of Worldviews 2013: Media, Higher Education and Internationalization are University World News, Inside Higher Ed, OCUFA/Academic Matters and OISE/University of Toronto.

Journalists, editors, academics, researchers, university and college media and public relations practitioners from North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania will encourage an interactive dialogue with participants at the conference. As well as debates, panels and practical workshops, interviews with leading thinkers, and the opportunity for audience members to become speakers and debaters.

Networking with leading edge thinkers and colleagues in media and communications, public relations, and research from across the globe is one of the major benefits of the conference.

The themes of the 2013 Conference are:

Newsflashes from the global campus
Reporting trends, interpretations and relationships

Hooking up or a long-term relationship?
Future depictions of the professoriate and of journalism

Unlocking the tower
How trends in media, citizenry, and government are altering the academy

For more information, please contact Laura Ziemba… Read more

The Carnegie Corporation was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding and is one of the oldest and largest American foundations.… Read more

- Sir John Daniel, former Assistant Director-General, Unesco, and former President of the Commonwealth of Learning;  

- Andrew Keen, the author of  “CULT OF THE AMATEUR: How The Internet Is Killing Our Culture”  and“DIGITAL VERTIGO: How Today’s  Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing and Disorienting Us”,  

- Teboho Moja, Clinal Professor of Higher Education, New York University and former advisor to the Minister of Education, South Africa; 

- Mark Kingwell, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto and contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine; 

- Philip G. Altbach,  Director of the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College; 

- Janice Neil, Associate Professor, Ryerson School of Journalism. … Read more