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Courses

Syllabi are for course approval and reference only. Students will receive up-to-date syllabi when their courses begin.

Classes are held at Boston University’s London Center, located in the elegant borough of South Kensington in central London. It houses the classrooms, library, computer and Internet facilities, and administrative offices of Boston University’s British programs. The London Center has 17 staff members who supervise the academic programs, provide student-life services, assign and maintain housing, and support student and faculty research.

Students will enroll in one of two tracks: A) International Security Affairs or B) Reporting and Reviewing the Arts.

During the first five weeks, both tracks take the following two courses:

COM JO 701 Reporting British Politics and Culture
This course will offer graduate journalism students an intensive study of the reporting of British Politics and Culture. Though concentrating primarily on the British scene, the study will be pursued in a broad European context, and there will be some consideration of how comparable themes are handled in United States media. As well as a solid basis of theory, there will be a strong practical aspect to the course. Students will be encouraged to relate class activities to their future plans as prospective professional journalists. There will be three strands to the course. An overview of the interplay between British politics and culture, with stress on print and electronic journalistic coverage in such areas parliamentary proceedings, trends in health and welfare, education, foreign policy and mass entertainment. An assessment, using models drawn from print and electronic media, of the extent to which British politics and culture are being impacted on by political and cultural developments in Continental Europe. The third strand will be a study, using models drawn from print and electronic media, of the impact upon British politics and culture of American cultural values and –not least—political power and influence. Macleod, 4 cr.

COM JO 954 Directed Study
Students complete a substantial journalistic assignment that should include independent fieldwork of 5,000 to 6,000 words with the guidance of Aleks Sierz (Arts) or David McNeil (International). Students agree the title of their directed study in advance of the start of the programme and over the first five weeks of the semester have three scheduled tutorials with their faculty member to monitor the progress of the directed study.

Requirements for Directed Study, per concentration:

Alex Sierz Requirements
Directed Study for Graduates: The students will be asked to present a portfolio comprising one PR-piece (300-400 words), one review (400-500 words), one profile (1000-1500 words) and one feature (1500-2000), each of which will be on contemporary British theatre. These must be based on finding out information for themselves and on securing and conducting interviews with key players and original research in London.

David McNeil Requirements
Directed Study for Graduates: Students will prepare a substantial assignment of between 5,000 and 6,000 words on the recent development of the European Union with special reference to the effect on Europe's trading and military relations with the rest of the world and in particular, the United States. This feature article would involve much original reporting, incorporating the views of leading policy makers, historians and political scientists.

Concentrations

During the last eight weeks of the program, students take the appropriate electives for their concentrations, listed below, and the corresponding internship course.

A. International and Security Affairs Concentration

COM JO 708 The Foreign Correspondent: Reporting from Europe
This course brings the theories and concepts of news reporting to a very practical and hands-on level. Students analyse radio, television and newspaper reports and then fine-tune their writing skills through class assignments. Throughout the course guest lecturers with first-hand experience of international reporting offer practical advice about succeeding in the field. The course offers an introduction to the structure and institutions of the international media. It also focuses on major issues and how they are covered, There is a particular emphasis on the skills involved in reporting conflict, including the delicate relationship between reporter and soldier and the arguments over how much of the reality of war should be shown on television and in newspapers. Students will also examine the evolution of war reporting. You will be introduced to London news sources, the techniques of reporting in the electronic media and the practical aspects of working as a foreign correspondent. McNeil. 4 cr. Syllabus

COM JO 737 Graduate Internship
Students are pre-placed in their placements following initial interviews conducted on BU campus during April. Students work four days a week, for eight weeks in journalism work placements. This course is examined by a Graduate Placement Portfolio, which is graded by Alexander Macleod, the core class lecturer. In summary students are expected to produce a Placement Portfolio of a total length of 40 pages comprising three sections: daily entries, field research and an analytical conclusion. This accounts for 100% of the internship grade.

B. Reporting and Reviewing the Arts

COM JO 710 Modern British Drama: A Critics Perspective
This course provides you with a thorough introduction to post-war British theatre along with key information about British theatre today. Particular attention is given to recent drama history; milestone play texts from Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot (1953) to Sarah Kane’s Blasted (1995) and the way they relate to their wider social and cultural contest. Practical information about how to write theatre reviews, plus six theatre visits, will enhance the ability of students to discuss modern British drama in an informed and balanced manner. The ultimate aim is to increase awareness of British theatre and develop practical skills that will enable you to address the question of whether or not a new play is any good. Sierz, 4 cr. Syllabus

COM JO 737 Graduate Internship
Students are pre-placed in their placements following initial interviews conducted on BU campus during April. Students work four days a week, for eight weeks in journalism work placements. This course is examined by a Graduate Placement Portfolio, which is graded by Alexander Macleod, the core class lecturer. In summary students are expected to produce a Placement Portfolio of a total length of 40 pages comprising three sections: daily entries, field research and an analytical conclusion. This accounts for 100% of the internship grade.

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Faculty

All British faculty hold adjunct positions with Boston University.

Alexander MacLeod, BA (Hons), University of New Zealand. He has had 40 years of practical experience in broadcasting and print journalism. In New Zealand he was Editor-in-Chief of the NZ Listener and President of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. In Britain he has served as Foreign Editor of The Sunday Times (London), Diplomatic Editor of The Scotsman (Edinburgh), and British Isles correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor (Boston). For five years he was Editor of the London-based Round Table Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs. He has more than 20 years of experience as a news presenter on BBC Radio, including nearly 10 years as presenter on Twenty-Four Hours for the BBC World Service, and for fifteen years he anchored BBC Radio Four's World Tonight program. As a roving documentary-maker in the United States, Europe and Asia he has made many programs for the BBC.

David McNeil was a Foreign Correspondent for the BBC for twenty-one years.  He was based in Beirut, New York, Johannesburg, Jerusalem and Washington and has reported for the BBC from forty-six countries covering some of the great political developments of the time along with numerous wars and insurrections. He has also presented news programmes on BBC Radio and is currently a news presenter on BBC Radio 3.

Aleks Sierz holds a first-class honours degree in Politics and Modern History from Manchester University, an MA in Arts Criticism from City University, London, and a PhD from Westminster University. He has spent all his working life in the fields of academia and journalism. He is currently the theatre critic of Tribune and The Stage. He is Visiting Research Fellow at Rose Bruford College and has previously taught at Goldsmiths College, University of London, and at Westminster University. He is also a freelance arts journalist for The Sunday Times, The Independent and The Telegraph. He is a former Hon Sec of the Drama Section of the Critics' Circle, and the proud author of the bestselling In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today (Faber, 2001), The Theatre of Martin Crimp (Methuen Drama, 2006) and, most recently, John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger (Continuum, 2008).

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