The undergraduate population of Washington University is constantly warned about the effects of living life in a “bubble.” We are encouraged to keep abreast of current affairs; we are advised to watch the news whenever possible or read a newspaper every day. There is even “Project Awareness,” launched with the goal of fighting bubble-effects by publicizing where to locate newspapers on campus and on the web.

It seems backward, however, to stress the importance of current affairs at a school where academics pay so little attention to many forms of communication, especially journalism. We are all, by necessity, dependent upon the media to relay information. To truly encourage awareness, the University should integrate journalism and communication courses into the Arts and Sciences curriculum.

The study of journalism need not be of a technical nature to constitute a valid academic pursuit. There is value in simply understanding the journalistic process, and our peer institutions know this. Emory College, the undergraduate arts and sciences division of Emory University, offers journalism as a co-major or minor. The study requires courses like “Communication Law” and “Journalism Ethics.” The College at the University of Pennsylvania offers a communication major that includes journalistic coursework, as does Stanford University’s School of Humanities and Sciences. At both institutions, how-to courses are almost entirely absent, simply leaving students with opportunities like Penn’s “Critical Perspectives in Journalism” and Stanford’s “The Press and the Political Process” or “Perspectives on American Journalism.”

Such coursework at Washington University would complement virtually any study in the liberal arts. All students could benefit from an improved ability to write clearly and concisely-there’s no better way to learn than by studying journalism.

Not only can students profit from the study of journalism and communication, but the demand is present as well. The University College offers a small selection of journalism and communication courses, some of which are close to full. The English Department office often receives calls from prospective students asking if journalism courses are offered in the day school. There is no reason those students should hang up disappointed.

Presently, information diffuses so quickly across borders and cultures that it is crucial that we be able to understand and interpret what we read, see and hear. Course options in journalism and communication would make these skills accessible to the student body of Washington University. There is no better way to foster social, cultural, and political awareness than to allow students to question the information they are faced with everyday.

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