Fulbright Update:
At university, discussions now focus on Ukrainian refugees
I continue lecturing this semester at the State University of Moldova (USM), in the journalism department (they call departments faculties here). Our current focus is on how media report about Ukrainian refugees. 

Peace Journalism lesson, Moldova State Univ.

Last fall, I taught an introduction to peace journalism lesson, including definitions, characteristics, and so on. I had the students read stories and discuss whether they were written in the peace journalism style. This spring, I’m teaching an advanced seminar on peace journalism and migrants wherein I discuss traditionally negative, stereotyping coverage of refugees, and how peace journalism can improve that coverage. Among other things, I cite a report about Online Discourse about Refugees in Moldova that reveals a Russian online disinformation campaign against Ukrainian refugees. Hate speech and “prejudicial comments” were found in 47 percent of the social media comments collected. The students aren’t surprised by this data.

Our most interesting discussion this semester has been about Roma refugees who have come to Moldova from Ukraine. (Almost a million Ukrainian refugees have passed through Moldova, while about 120,000 have stayed, according to UNHCR. There is no statistic I could find about how many of those who remained are Roma). It’s interesting to hear the prevalent stereotypes about refugees, and about how Roma refugee issues have been virtually ignored by the press here.

My classes, 90 minutes long, have been good for the most part. Just like any university I’ve taught at, there are a group of highly engaged students in each class who are extremely attentive and eagerly participate in exercises and discussions. Just like any university, cell phones are a scourge, distracting students and professors alike. In journalism classrooms worldwide, data show that the majority of students are young women. In my classes in Moldova, that trend is even more pronounced. I’d estimate that 80% of my students are young women, though in one recent class, 19/20 were female.

My classes are all in the main university building, and all on one floor. A few of the classrooms have a projector that can plug into a laptop, but most are spartan, with nothing more than an ancient chalkboard—little changed from the first time I taught at USM in 2001. Because there’s no a/v in most classrooms, I just teach without it, which is a fundamental change from my teaching back in the U.S. I’ve reverted to handouts, and I’ve printed off pictures I want to show the class.  One of the biggest changes from 2001 is that the classrooms are heated. Way back, I remember my teeth chattering during my lectures. The other big change is that in 2001, USM’s main block and hallways were clogged with students. Now, there is no crowding. USM’s enrollment must be down substantially from 20+ years ago, with many of its potential students studying instead in Romania, Western Europe, or the U.S.

The department has structured my Fulbright as a “lector invitat,” a guest lecturer, in peace journalism. What this means is that I do not have my own classes per se. I can see why they structured it this way, since there are no peace journalism courses in the curriculum. They could’ve given me a mass media or intro to journalism course and I could have included a peace journalism unit, though we were in agreement that this wasn’t the best use of my expertise.

This "lector invitat" arrangement has its advantages. I am able to still concentrate on peace journalism, and not have to worry about any other subject about which I am much less interested. I get to teach each students in the department twice—once in the fall, and once in the spring. As someone who’s taught at the university level for 27 years, the biggest advantage is avoiding the most onerous aspects of the job, grading and course administration. No papers for me! And no gradebook, grades, and, concomitantly, no annoying interactions with student grade-grubbers.

The disadvantage is that I don’t really get to know the students, since they just see me for an hour and a half in the fall, and another hour and a half in the spring. Oh, we’ve had a few before or after class chats, but nothing really substantial. I miss these interactions.

I’ll continue my work at USM through the spring semester, which will end in early June.