By Shahad Haif and Maryam Al Raeesi
DUBAI – In Fall 2015 Dr. Michael Ogden was appointed assistant dean in the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University. Zajel ZU staff Shahad Haif and Maryam Al Raeesi interviewed Dr. Ogden to discuss general topics.
Dr. Ogden discussed his accomplishments, thoughts on media’s importance to politics, and his advice to CCMS and Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) students.
Interview conducted and condensed by Shahad Haif and Maryam Al Raeesi.
Q: What brought you to Zayed University?
A: I was alerted to the job position by a colleague who’s already working here, and I was at a place in my career with my former institution where I had accomplished everything that I had sought to do. And so I was looking for a new challenge, a new place and the opportunity seemed very interesting, so I applied and here I am.
Q: What was your first impression of Dubai?
A: I came with an open mind, and I have to admit that my first impression of Dubai in August 9th was it’s incredibly hot and very humid. But, Dubai as a city is a very interesting city. It’s inventing itself even as we are living in it. It’s very dynamic. I described it to my colleagues back in the United States who were interested in what Dubai was like: I said it is a post-modern city, it is reinventing itself on a daily basis, and it is a united nations of people.
Q: What are some interesting accomplishments you worked at?
A: In the perspective of academics, I’ve got a 25-page curriculum vitae, so I’ve done a lot of things, taught a lot of classes, published a lot of books or journal articles, made a lot of conference presentations and those are all well and good and part of who I am. In my professional career, I started out working on documentaries. I was a part of team that worked for a documentary on Mount St. Helens after it had erupted. I was in Yemen for six weeks working on National Geographic’s documentary, “The land of the Queen of Sheba.” I also worked on other small documentaries.
Q: Why do you think media is important nowadays?
A: There are a number of different things we could talk about, but I think one of the ones that has become very apparent, and more so since I moved to a different country and seeing it fresh for the first time, is that media is a part of the environment now. Everybody has a smart phone, everybody has a laptop. We talk about things we see on the internet or films that we watch in the theatre or on television programs, radio, everything is there. We are surrounded by it. It is an environment of media and we become adapted to our environment and media just like animals become adapted to living in the desert or being in the jungle, or it becomes a background. You don’t know it is there, but you notice when it is not there. So, it is perceived. It is everywhere. Media is everywhere. It contributes to the public debate, it presents us with items to talk about to each other, information near and far, tragic events, happy events, sporting events, fashion events, all of this is coming together in different ways. It used to be is that you either read in the newspaper, heard it on the radio or saw it on television. But now, it comes to you however you want it. You want to read it, okay. Download it from the news site. You want to hear it? Okay, stream a podcast etc.
Q: Do you think that politics and media are highly dependant on each other?
A: My question was always been in this regard. If a politician were to hold a press conference and none of the press came, would he still talk anyway? No, probably not. The point is they want the message go to the media, so the media will take the message to the people. They are not making a direct address to the people. They probably could, but not to large enough groups and not with enough coverage. So, they are kind of dependent on each other. Media report on political activity, and the political individuals – the politicians – depend on the media to get their messages out. They may be antagonistic towards each other sometimes, but they need each other.
Q: What kind of topics should CCMS and HSS students study about?
A: It really depends on what you are interested in. You may be majoring in one field, but there are a lot of things that are related to that one field. For me, my bachelor’s degree was in communication art. I studied film and theatre, but I got a minor in biology and a minor in anthropology because I was interested in those subjects. I knew that I wanted to make documentaries and I like science so why not do some science documentaries. My Ph.D. was in political science, but I focused on technology’s impact on and development of the future.
Q: Do you think it would be beneficial for CCMS and HSS students to study abroad?
A: I am a firm believer that [study abroad] is a measure of an education; holistic education. Yes, you specialize in one major, but you should be a well-rounded citizen of the world. The general education helps that, but to really be able to be a well-rounded citizen of the word takes experience. I feel that when possible students should spend some time in other countries than their own.
About the Author
Shahad Haif is a junior at Zayed University majoring in International Affairs. She enjoys writing, editing, and interviewing people. She is an artist at HearMyEcho.com.
This story was originally published on Sept. 14, 2015. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 25, 2020. The photo that accompanied this story was lost due to the loss of the domain name.
