Global Pathways Reflective Essay

I first enrolled in a course in Bachelor of Mass Communication and later graduated with a second class upper division. In later years, I opted to major on a Master's degree in International Relations. I would have decided to major in a Master degree in Mass Communication but decided that an International course would open up more opportunities and diverse areas for research. The reason is that I observed the current world politics and decided that it was the best time to take part in the shaping of the world relationships. The issues included bad blood among the NATO countries and the Asian countries, Arab countries and Russia (Buzan, Barry, and George Lawson). Despite having done the course of Mass Communication, I have realized that it is still useful in my current studies. I will discuss how Mass Communication relates to International Relations and how the study of the initial course boosts the study of the course of International Relations.

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For one, Mass communication deals with understanding current issues locally, regionally and internationally. Understanding current issues have been of great value to me because I have been able to apply those concepts in international relations. It is not that Mass Communication has given be definite knowledge about current issues. I need to make efforts to read the news and widely through the internet, books and printed magazines and newspapers. For a person who did not do a communication-related course, there was no prior need or affinity to go checking the local dailies and other news sources. Therefore, I can attest that the course in Mass Communication is making the course of international relations easier. In most cases, I have knowledge of a lot of history about the world politics and other important historical events. In International Relations course, I learn how to structure my arguments and support the concepts of International Relations to flesh out my prior knowledge of various matters (Coombs, Timothy, and Sherry, 689-695).

Another connection that I can say was borrowed was Mass Communication was the ability to have a good command of formal language and different styles of communication. International Relations entail a lot of communication tools. In fact, a person doing International Relations should be well equipped when it comes to various communication concepts. In my International Relations class, I was able to dissect and analyze a lot of issues pertaining communication between different countries. I was able to move fast in understanding different concepts of communication.

I remember when I wanted to enroll in a Master's Degree in International Relations, one of the requirements was that a person should have done a communication-related course. That was a direct entry to me given that I already had a bachelor's degree in Mass Communication. My friend who was very personate about International Relations matters was not successful because in his degree course he had done a computer science course. Therefore, I can proudly attest that Mass communication helped me to pass the requirement of being eligible for an International Relations course.

I also realized that most of the unit courses and concepts that I learned Mass Communication were taught in International Relations. Therefore, it is easier for me understanding and relating. Courses like conflict management were easy to handle in my International Relations course because I had already covered it widely in my degree courses. However, those courses were not applicable in similar scope as in the course of Mass Communication. It is taught in a wider perspective when it comes to International Relations. In most cases, I find myself needing to recall some of the scenarios and concepts that made me grasp the courses properly when I was pursuing my degree. When I relate myself with my colleagues who did not do Communication courses in their former courses and specialization, I discover that they have some bit of struggles. For instance, a problem like examining the possibility of a global world government is alien to most of them. For me, I had already written a lot of research and evaluation papers about the same topic in my former course. That helped me to understand most of the concepts (Dinnie). I would then apply some of the most relatable cases to the new cases and direction of world politics to establish my claims.

Since I had prior knowledge about most of the historical events, my work was just to go ahead and confirm my thoughts through the use of internet and other relevant tools and materials. My research papers were more firm and substantial given that I argued through a wider sense. I was also able to make very relevant and specific references using the readings I got during my pursuit of a degree course. It was then easier and fast to do assignment and examinations. My colleagues, on the other hand, went through a lot of trouble trying to read dozens of publications of newspaper and other materials to get a foundation of what they wanted to research about. Therefore, when I look back, I see Mass Communication as a very instrumental course.

Works Cited

Buzan, Barry, and George Lawson. The global transformation: History, modernity and the making of international relations. Vol. 135. Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Coombs, W. Timothy, and Sherry J. Holladay. "Public relations'"relationship identity" in research: Enlightenment or illusion." Public Relations Review 41.5 (2015): 689-695.

Dinnie, Keith. Nation Branding: Concepts, issues, practice. Routledge, 2015.