Due to the fire the graduate student conference will take place at the namal (port) campus (65 Ha-Namal St., Haifa - a 5 minute walk from the Haifa Central "hashmona" railway station). It will begin at 9:15 as scheduled.
Department chair: Dr. Ouzi Elyada
Understanding human communication has become more complex with the emergence of mass communication. A significant portion of our leisure is now spent consuming television, radio, newspapers, film and the Internet. The segmentation of channels, the introduction of cable and satellite television, the rise of local press and local radio stations, commercial television, and computer mediated communication, have all deepened mass media's grip on our leisure time.
Mass media are not only a private affair--they operate in the public and social spheres as well: They are involved in political processes, the shaping of public opinion, influencing voters and candidates' images, setting the public agenda, in the rise and fall of fashions, in promoting products, increasing sales and more. Media are also blamed for more controversial effects such as increasing violence, cultivating stereotypes of and prejudices against minorities, dumbing down of culture, propagating global culture, promoting conspicuous consumption, etc. Additional concerns have been raised about the functioning of mass media In the Israeli context such as censorship and national security, the role and functioning of mass media in times of war and crisis, and the use of communication in solving conflicts and increasing cooperation among nations.
It is hard to imagine human activity that does not involve communication. We engage in communication when we choose what to wear, when we read the morning paper or watch TV, when we signal the bus to stop or when we sing a lullaby at the day's end. All such activities involve the creation of meaning, and as such, they are of interest to us in the Department of Communication.
The central role of media in society and culture, as well as the increasing demand for communication-related expertise by public and commercial media systems, has brought many academic institutions around the world to develop communication programs. The Department of Communication at the University of Haifa is distinguished by the inter-disciplinary approach it offers to the study of communication, both by the scope of courses within the department and through its extensive contacts with other departments specializing in related areas of inquiry.
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