Dr. Kevin Schut may be the coolest academic you’ll ever meet. He studies video games, using his doctorate degree in communication to explore the social, psychological, economic and even spiritual dimensions of one of the hottest media genres around today (check out his new book, Of Games and God: A Christian Exploration of Video Games, to learn more).
I was thrilled to meet with the Trinity Western University communication department chair recently, to get his thoughts on learning and teaching communication. Schut, who was born and raised in Canada and pursued graduate studies in communication in the U.S., welcomed me to his Langley, British Columbia office with a warm smile and a friendly handshake. I glanced at the display of books on his office book shelf and Ronanowski’s classic Eyes Wide Open caught my eye. Not surprisingly, Romanowski’s ideas have been a strong influence on Schut’s work.
The blue-jeaned academic guru of video games told me his journey to the role of communication professor was not a straightforward one. After completing a first degree in history, he served a stint as a teacher in Cote D’Ivoire in West Africa and contemplated being a history teacher at the university. That was before an advisor suggested he consider the job market for history professors. So he made a detour to the field of communication. Then came another piece of advice from one of his profs – the road of academia is a long one so make sure you specialize in something you enjoy. This is what will keep you going when the going gets tough.
That’s when the light bulb came on for Schut. “Video games! Can you study that?” he thought. From his youth, Schut loved gaming (and still does). It turned out he could study video games academically, and so he did. Schut says there wasn’t a lot of research literature in the burgeoning field, but there were lots of great academic questions worth investigating. And specializing in this field gave him scholarly justification to play the games he loved.
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Dr. Schut recently made a presentation to students at Spring Arbor University, arguing that video games are a “double-edged sword.” Watch on YouTube.
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Video games may not be your passion, but Schut’s choice and career path offers a valuable lesson for those thinking of careers in communication scholarship. Find an area in the field that resonates with you at a personal level. If you don’t love what you are studying or teaching, your journey in academia becomes hard to sustain over the long haul.
Below is a summary of the great tips that Dr. Schut shared with me:
1. While it’s great to study what you love, don’t forget about jobs. Do some research to find out what areas universities are focusing on in their hiring activities. You can do this by checking out current job postings. If you can align your passion to the market needs, you have a double win.
2. Professional groups such as the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association provide excellent avenues to learn about opportunities in the field and what’s “hot” right now. By reviewing what topics are being discussed in conferences and the subjects leading presenters are focusing on, you can get a good sense of areas of relevance that you may wish to specialize in.
3. Think global. In an increasingly globalized economy, specializations that are relevant to the networked reality of contemporary life will command appeal. Intercultural communication, for example, has applications for a world that has been made smaller by immigration and media technology.
4. For those with an interest and background in this area, teaching communication from a Christian worldview offers good employment prospects, especially in the U.S.
5. Don’t be afraid to combine multiple interests and theoretical perspectives to creatively arrive at an area of specialization in communication that you are passionate about. What’s most important is your ability to justify your focus as a relevant and needed contribution to the study and practice of communication.
Many thanks to Dr. Schut for allowing me to share these insights on my blog. Watch this blog for my upcoming review of his latest book, Of Games and God.
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