Program Details

Blue highlighting indicates a Trent University Durham course

Green highlighting indicates a Durham College course

» ENGL 1851H: The Writing Life: An Introduction to Creative Writing- An overview of writerly inspiration, perspiration, and contemplation, this course considers the creative process that leads to literary texts within and across a variety of genres, periods, and personalities. Readings and assignments include not only literary texts, but also essays on writing and the writing life.

» WRIT 1001H: Write in Time- This writing-intensive course aims to provide practical and cumulative skills in writing clearly, correctly, and persuasively across disciplines and situations. The course assumes the importance of a close relationship among reading, thinking, and writing, and operates on the premise that the practice of writing encourages thinking and promotes innovative, insightful reflection.

» CUST-MDST 1535H: Introduction to Media Studies- An introduction to media studies that starts with students’ own experiences of contemporary media. It seeks to give students an understanding of these media and how they emerged. Leads into second-year courses in the history and theory of media, in changing media practices, and in digital culture.

» INDG 1001H: The Foundation for Reconciliation (ICR)- Provides a foundation for an informed and critical discussion of Indigenous peoples in Canada and the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, cultures, societies, and states. The course explores the rationale for and need for the Canadian national project of reconciliation.

» CUST-MDST 2535H: Media and Society- An introduction to key innovations in the media ranging from papyrus to wearable computers. Analyzes the effect these innovations have had on society from diverse perspectives, including critical interpretation, political economy, sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and media ecology, giving students a toolbox to be used in other Media Studies courses.

» COIS-MDST 1010H: The Digital World (Sc)- Digital systems have redefined how we work, communicate, and play—just think about the World Wide Web, mobile camera phones, video games, and e-business. Core topics examine the underlying technologies of both computing and information systems and how they have become an integral and indispensable part of our daily lives.

» ENGL 2855H: Introductory Creative Non-Fiction Workshop- This introductory class on creative non-fiction exposes students to the variety of texts grouped in this genre (personal essay, memoir, journalistic essay, case study, and hybrids), through discussion, practice, and workshop. Students consider issues such as audience, literary strategies, diction, voice, tone, and ethical responsibilities to living subjects.

» ENGL 2001H: Reading Literature: A Practical Introduction- An introduction to critical practice and to the assumptions underlying a wide range of approaches to literature. Explores British, American, Canadian, and postcolonial works, and draws on parallels between literary and non-literary language and between literature and other forms of expression. Emphasis is placed on learning through writing.

» ENGL 2859H: Introductory Creative Writing Workshop- An introduction to the practice of writing prose and poetry, this course asks students to experiment with a variety of contemporary forms. The course will benefit both those interested in pursuing writing careers and those intending to be teachers who hope to incorporate creative writing in their teaching practices.

Blue highlighting indicates a Trent University Durham course

Green highlighting indicates a Durham College course

» JOUR 1100: Reporting 1- In this course, students will acquire the essential skills required to craft news stories that are fit for both traditional print and digital media. The course emphasizes the fundamental components of news writing, such as accuracy, coherence, news judgment, and constructing compelling leads. Students will be introduced to diverse styles and formats of news writing, and they will also familiarize themselves with the Canadian Press style - the widely accepted style guide employed by most Canadian media organizations.

» JOUR 1101: Interviewing and Research- This course is designed to equip students with essential skills in conducting effective interviews and conducting research for journalistic purposes in both print and online formats. In this course, students will develop a strong foundation in the art of interviewing, enabling them to gather accurate and compelling information from diverse sources. They will also learn how to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and techniques to enhance their research capabilities, ensuring their work is accurate, fact-checked, well-informed, and substantiated.

» MDIA 1102: Mass Media Fundamentals- This course delves into the dynamic evolution of mass media and journalism, providing insight into the history of journalism, job functions within a newsroom, industry trends, career opportunities, and current affairs. Students gain a solid foundation in understanding the industry and apply these skills through an experiential learning project.

» MDIA 1103: Broadcast Production 1- This course equips students with the necessary skills to gather, write, and present news in a broadcast format while incorporating the application of audio editing techniques to produce high-quality content. Students will develop strong news judgement, learn how to use concise language, write a strong lead, identify good audio clips for broadcast stories and gain hands-on experience in crafting engaging news segments.

» MDIA 1104: Photo and Video 1- This course introduces students to basic principles of photography and video. Instruction will consider both the technical and visual components. Critical skills in understanding and interpreting visuals will also be taught. Students will receive instruction in the use of digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera for both photography and videography, including composition, shutter speed, depth of field and use of flash, as well as the basics of recording, shooting and editing video.

» ETHC 1204: Media Law and Ethics- This course will explore two subject matters: media law and media ethics. It is an introduction to Canadian law and legal procedure in areas likely to be encountered by the working media. Topics include a basic overview of our legal system's history and functioning, the key role played by our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, contempt of court, confidentiality of sources, defamation, copyright, privacy, access to information, police powers of search, seizure, and arrest, and court orders like injunctions and subpoenas. You will analyze the major ethical issues facing journalists, including the public's right to know vs. an individual's right to privacy, free press vs. fair trial, community standards, becoming involved in the news, conflict of interest.

» JOUR 1200: Reporting 2- This course aims to provide students with a solid foundation in reporting skills essential to the field of journalism. The students will focus on the core aspects of gathering material, conducting interviews, generating story ideas, writing and editing their news stories. They will learn how to present the gathered material in a compelling news style, ensuring their stories are informative, engaging, and well-structured. The course also provides an overview of reporting beats, enabling students to grasp the specialized areas they may cover as journalists.

» MDIA 1203: Broadcast Production 2- This course focuses on strengthening students' news judgement, and news gathering and writing skills for presentation in broadcast format. Students will also learn the art of preparing for live interviews and presenting news stories in varying lengths in both audio and video formats. Audio and video recording, writing and production skills will be enhanced and students will learn to prepare and present audio and video-based programs.

» MDIA 1204: Online and Print Production- This course examines industry best practices for print and online layout, encompassing news and social media. Students will gain essential design skills to create the Chronicle across print, online, and social media platforms. They will also utilize a content management system (CMS) to efficiently create, organize, and publish content across different media platforms. The course concludes with the production of the Chronicle across multiple platforms in preparation for the ‘Working Newsroom' in second year.

» MDIA 1205: Photo and Video 2- In this course, students will enhance their photography and video skills through hands-on training in different aspects of electronic news-gathering, becoming a multi-platform journalist. Students advance their video recording, shooting and editing skills while also enhancing their photography skills through the introduction of lighting and shot techniques. Students will work with faculty to produce visuals for news stories the Chronicle online and print, Chronicle on Riot Radio and Chronicle social media platforms.

Blue highlighting indicates a Trent University Durham course

Green highlighting indicates a Durham College course

» JOUR 2100: Reporting 3- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. This course helps students build on the skills gained in Reporting I. Students handle a variety of assignments and are exposed to a wide variety of reporting tools. The focus continues to be on gathering material (interviewing, document research, note taking, originating story ideas, and individual record-keeping and suggesting story ideas) and presenting the material in a news style appropriate for the mass media.

» JOUR 2101: Inclusive Impactful Storytelling- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. This course aims to provide foundation skills in finding, developing and writing a variety of feature stories and opinion pieces. Lab time will be spent practicing techniques for finding story ideas, researching material, and writing general features, profiles, reviews, columns, blogs and/or editorials. Impeccable writing skills are important in writing for publication of any kind. It is assumed that students in this course bring with them the fundamental writing, research, photography and computer skills acquired in first year that are necessary to complete the work assigned.

» MDIA 2102: Photo and Video 3- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. This course expands on the basic photo and video skills acquired in first year into more advanced and specific applications. During the second year, activities are closely related to the day-to-day operation of the Chronicle, Durham College's newspaper and website. Lectures, demonstrations and visual shows will deal with specific applications and techniques used by photographers and video journalists. By the completion of the course, the student must demonstrate the ability to complete photography and videography at a level of competency acceptable in the industry.

» MDIA 2103: Podcasting- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduates require an immersive learning experience that exposes them to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. This course aims to provide foundational skills in producing podcasts, including developing a concept, conducting in-depth research, interviewing, writing scripts and recording and editing audio. Students will also create narrative structures and incorporate sound design, while also exploring business aspects of podcasting such as identifying audiences, analyzing analytics, marketing and distribution.

» MDIA 2104: Multi-Platform Storytelling- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduates require an immersive learning experience that exposes them to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. Students taking this course will gain experience telling stories through a variety of mediums, including text, audio, video, photography, infographics and mapping. Students will also explore an array of digital storytelling platforms to share their work.

» JOUR 1201: Critical and Opinion Writing- This course focuses on all aspects of critical and opinion-related journalism, including tools and techniques for column writing and editorials. Students engage media literacy skills to identify bias and explain how this affects the frame and structure of a story. Students enhance writing skills by applying critical thinking to support the purpose and message of content. This course expands on techniques and strategies learned in Reporting 1 while preparing students for feature-length writing in second year.

» JOUR 2200: Impactful Storytelling with Indigenous Communities- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. This course aims to provide skills in researching, organizing, writing, and editing feature stories for newspapers, magazines and their digital platforms. Students will create an interactive multi-media feature in this course.

» JOUR 2201: Reporting 4- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. Honing their skills from Reporting II, students handle a variety of assignments and cover municipal council meetings, court proceedings, special board meetings, and speaking events. The focus continues to be on storytelling for broadcast, print and digital audiences.

» MDIA 2200: Newsroom- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, social media, and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. Students taking this course will gain experience in the application of the practical skills in all areas of media production associated with reporting and working in a functioning newsroom, digital and broadcast platforms. The lab is focused on professionally formatting news stories, photos and broadcast content. Students will also utilize social networking sites to share their stories and develop an audience for the journalism program.

» MDIA 2201: Photo and Video 4- This course is part of the Journalism – Mass Media second year, fully functioning media outlet, known as a ‘Working Newsroom'. As such this course outline reflects students will spend half their time in a classroom setting and half the time in the ‘Working Newsroom'. The focus of the newsroom is production only on all Chronicle platforms, including online, print and Riot Radio. The classroom week focuses on learning and practicing new content and techniques, with the goal of employing them in an upcoming newsroom week. Today's journalism graduate requires an immersive learning experience that exposes him or her to the broadest set of technologies and skills on a repetitive basis to move seamlessly into industry. This course expands the basic photo and video skills acquired in first year and first semester of second year into more advanced and specific applications. During this course, activities are closely related to the day-to-day operation of the Chronicle, Durham College's newspaper and website. Classes will deal with specific applications and techniques used by photographers and video journalists. By the completion of the course, the student must demonstrate the ability to complete the photography and videography at a level of competency acceptable in the industry.

» CUST-MDST 3535H: Television Studies- An introduction to television studies with an emphasis on the historical transformations of TV from the 1950s to the YouTube era.

» ENGL 3851H: Intermediate Fiction Workshop- A writing-intensive workshop in original contemporary fiction, this course offers student writers an opportunity to deepen, extend, and enhance their current creative writing practices using a variety of fictional forms. Weekly writing, editing, reading, and live conversational critiques are required.

» ENGL 3855H: Creative Non-Fiction Workshop- Provides students with the opportunity to develop, through exercises and routines, a sustainable and robust writing practice, while exploring the connections between reportage and story, between documentary and art, between poetry and persuasion, and other relationships between the writer and the world.

Blue highlighting indicates a Trent University Durham course

Green highlighting indicates a Durham College course

» FDPL 2104: Field Placement Orientation- This course provides students with the skills they need to set up a professional field placement and information they will need to succeed at placement. It will also provide information and tools for the subsequent job search. Field Placement consists of a six-week work period at a professional newspaper, internet, magazine or broadcast outlet, or in communications.

» FDPL 2205: Field Placement Workshop-In conjunction with faculty advisors, this course ensures students successfully set up a professional field placement at a media outlet consistent with their employment interests. Field Placement consists of a six-week work period at a professional newspaper, internet, magazine or broadcast outlet, or in communications.

» ENTR 2210: Entrepreneurship- Students will learn about employer expectations, company policies, and professionalism. The need for strong communication skills will also be discussed. Students will also analyze issues in freelancing, including pay rates, hours of work, tax issues, running a home office, building a client base, working with editors and time management.

» JOMM 2200: Field Placement for Journalism- This course provides Journalism students with the opportunity to identify specific individual objectives as well as a chance to receive practical experience in a professional journalism or communications-related setting. The student's progress will be monitored throughout this placement through contact with the employer and student. The onus will be placed on the individual student to find his/her field placement with the support of faculty.

» ENGL 4850Y: Advanced Seminar in Creative Writing- Concentrating on literary prose, poetry, and/or creative non-fiction, this course requires student writers to engage actively in the creation of new works, peer discussions, critiques, and analyses of assigned literary readings. All writing for the course must be created for the literary page rather than the stage, microphone, or gallery.