Valmiki Ramayana – Critical Essays

Editors: Beate Illg, Beatrice Dernbach

Free and fair media are at the heart of any democratic set up. A thriving field of journalism and zealous and ethical journalists in that sense become torch bearers of a brighter and promising tomorrow. In this light, the status of journalists, the most important actors in the field becomes increasingly important as a matter of study. They act as gatekeepers of information that is flooding in the era of new media, a wave that is not so new anymore. Their roles remain intact and even becomes prominent in the chaos of many-to-many communication.
Not concentrating on specific countries, selected contributions in the book reflect on the developments of media and journalism education across different countries. Introducing the book with an overview about the state-of-the-art of journalism education and the research on a meta level, the book moves on to talk about media studies in the Asian countries and in Arab world, the African States and Brazil.
The recent economic and social developments present both opportunities and risks for journalism. Freedom of expression and freedom of press, even in democratic countries, are under pressure. This book provides an international perspective on the different aspects of journalism – the situation in which journalists work, their working conditions, educational backgrounds, struggles and successes. It is aimed at an international public interested in the field of journalism and freedom of speech. It addresses journalists, trainers and academics. Furthermore, institutions in the field of development cooperation, education or cultural policy and cultural education are the focus of this work. Though the book is focused on journalism and journalism education in developing countries, contributions are from across the globe. This book is an interesting read for all those who care about a vital media landscape and an open democratic society.

Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.

Also available on

Author: Amala Poli

Writing the Self in Illness: Reading the Experiential Through the Medical Memoir is MUP’s refreshing venture into the developing fields of Medical and Health Humanities with an aim to consider the necessity of the narrative knowledge as complementary to the contemporary notions of well-being, illness, and healthcare.

Is individual happiness contingent on health and well-being “How does one find happiness in the throes of illness” In the present-day scenario, wherein medical practice is largely dominated by evidence-based understanding, diagnostic language, and problem-solving methods, the discipline of Medical Humanities emerges with a reciprocal dialogue between Humanities, Social Sciences, Health, and Medicine. The study of varied experiential narratives – literary works and unmediated accounts of patients and healthcare professionals, is foregrounded in Medical Humanities to amplify knowledge and understanding about the complexity of encounters with illness and their transformational quality in a nuanced manner. Both thought-provoking and informative, this publication brings about the anecdotal form of personal narratives in the light of medical discourses along with the specific cultural context of the narrative.
The present publication seeks to be an important reading for students and academics in the field of medical humanities, health professionals or medical practitioners, as well as scholars aspiring to venture into this flourishing field.

Interested readers may write to us at mup@manipal.edu about purchasing the book.

Also available on