Appraisal of Gender Content in the Advertising syllabi of Mass Communication CoursesA Case for Gendered and Inclusive Curricula

Abstract

 Insensitive gender reporting in news media and content creation in promotional media has been an issue of concern for long. Insensitivity in reporting on issues relating to women and derogatory portrayal of woman cuts across various genres of media, viz., news, entertainment and advertising. With hundreds of universities in India now imparting professional education in mass communication, the area of inquiry of the current research paper was to see the prevalence or absence of gender content in the course curriculum of mass communication, especially advertising, which is often criticized for inappropriate and indecent portrayal of women in its narrative. The inclusion of mass communication as a subject of study at the university level in India began soon after independence in a couple of universities. In 1965, the Government of India set up the Indian Institute of Mass Communication(IIMC) to impart professional training in journalism and mass communication. A postgraduate diploma course in Advertising & Public Relations began at IIMC in 1981. Today over 300 universities and institutions both in the public and private domain impart professional courses in advertising as a part of mass communication curriculum and also as exclusive courses in advertising at undergraduate and post graduate levels. The findings of the research vindicate the research hypothesis that mass communication teaching in India in general does not include gender discourse and gender sensitization to students.