Matt MacCalla
Studying Abroad at Aalborg University in Denmark
Graduate Program in European Studies

August 23, 2004:

Hello gentlemen,

I just wanted to drop a line to fill you in a few recent developments that your former student has done, much due to the inspiration, guidance and help of you two.

Summer vacation has been great, and after spending a few weeks on the Black Sea coast and cities of Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Norway, I attended a AEJMC (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication) conference in Toronto, Canada.

I wrote a paper, along with a Canadian journalist from the CBC, a Bulgarian former associate professor from the U. of Missouri and the American School of Bulgaria, and a Danish masters degree student. The paper was a comparative study of 21 media outlets (17 newspapers and 4 24 hour news stations) from 6 continents and a dozen countries in 6 languages. We studied the media content of the week leading up to the two separate invasions of Iraq, to test for the strength of US hegemony.

It has now been published in an Interdisciplinary Journal of International Studies, and won a 'top award' at the conference. As we were the only students to have been asked to come and give a presentation from Europe (mostly North America and Asia were represented), the University thought it would be good for everyone if they paid our way, so we each received almost 2,000 dollars to cover expenses, and we were off.

It was huge. I had no idea how big it would all be. One of the biggest hotels in the biggest city in Canada was totally taken over by the people attending and presenting at the conference. It was at a beautiful Sheraton hotel, in the heart of downtown and the financial district (the Wall St. of Canada).

We went to some of the 'meet and greets'. We made 25 copies of our paper ( about 120 dollars worth) to give to the conference because they were selling them! People were buying our paper. We could be quoted at any second.

Later that night we went the the International Relations division meeting, where we were introduced as a 'top paper' prize winner, and were given a check prize.

I went to a great panel discussion on the media's role in the Gulf War the next day. Quite topical (our presentation was right after that one). The Q & A session was mediocre, until one person got angry at all the panelists for not looking at papers or media from the Middle East or the rest of the world (which is exactly what our paper looked at). They just focused on the US and UK and Western Europe.

It was then that I meet the president of the international relations division of the conference. She came up to me to ask what I was doing and what I thought. When she found out how many papers and media sources we used to study the international media's coverage of the 2 Gulf wars, she was floored. "6 languages, 21 outlets, 500 articles...that's awesome." From that, she came to see our presentation.

There weren't many people there. A couple of fans and academics that were interested in the topic. The conference was mainly made up of PhDs, professors and academics. About 70-80% of their papers were accepted. Then were the PhD students. About 30-40% of there's were accepted. Then were the non-PhD students. About 5% were accepted. The 2 others that won the 'top award' with us: first place was a PhD student and second was a masters.

So, the three presentations went on, in order. The first two were painfully boring, but their papers were very well done and written. Then, a professor they flew from Amsterdam got up, trying to connect a red thread through the papers, and critiquing them. We did not have to defend ourselves or anything, like I thought we would. They just said "these are the best of the best...the cream of the crop" and there is nothing to defend. All he was doing was to tell us little things that we can do in order to publish the paper more successfully. They all just assumed it would be published somewhere...they were too good not to they said.

In other news...I officially got an internship finally. Ill be going to Montevideo, Uruguay around Oct/Nov to work for an internet radio station (www.radiomundoreal.fm). It puts stories about the WTO, IMF, World Bank, NAFTA, social, labor and environmental issues on the internet for stations to pick up and use for their local stations. They want me to head a new english division that they will start but didn't have anyone to do it for them or the budget to hire someone. I think getting me for free was a dream. When the guy heard I had done one paper on the international media, and another on the Washington Consensus, he almost cried.

Lastly, I was just hired (at a great salary) to be the assistant teacher/tutor for the masters degree program in international relations until I leave for my internship. Upon returning to Denmark to finish my thesis, I can move back into it if I would like to.

Hope this wasn't too long, but I thought you two would be interested in what I've been up to and how things are working over here on the other side of the world. Thanks again, and speak to you soon.

Sincerely,

Matt MacCalla

Matthew I. MacCalla
Ny Kastetvej 16, stue. 10
9000 Aalborg, Denmark

+(45) 29 72 85 66

Master's Degree: Development & International Relations.
Aalborg University, Denmark

Links: http://www.radiomundoreal.fm

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December 15, 2003:

Well, its December again, and I've come to realize, that pretty much just means that the rest of the world does not have weather as nice as in southern California.  Its cold and dark here my friends.  The sun comes up at about 9am and down at 3pm.  Yes, that's right.  About the time that I get up and out of the apartment its pretty much getting dark again. 

Matt in Downtown Copenhagen

That makes "night life" a little hard to deal with.  It looks like its night almost all day, and with everything open till 6 or 7am, it can make a grown man looney.  The hours of light come to mean a lot though, even though the sun is still mostly behind the clouds and overcast-ness.

One nice thing about these European cities is how well dressed they get for the holidays.  The decorations, lights, trees, Christmas markets and fairs are awesome.  They have set up an ice skating rink and massive farris wheel right in the middle of the city, as well as a market to by local crafts and the scandanavian Christmas drink: Glugg.  Pretty much hot, spicy red wine. 

A bike has once again become my main mode of transport which is nice in one of the flatest countries on Earth, but rough in the -21 windy and rainy evenings.

I've been doing some traveling but its tough when I'm so wraped up in school and study (my parents are reading).  I've done a few trips to Germany (Munich, Berlin and Hamburg), Poland (Krackow and Aushwitz) and Copenhagen a bunch.

I still live in the apartment provided by the government with the 13 other nationalities that make our parties and get togethers like mini UN meetings.  The conversations focus on the same basic things, but the large amount of anti-American government feelings, and hearing stories about a friend that spent the night tearing down the Berlin Wall, another that Voted for Putin and another about how he escaped war in Somolia makes the stories slightly more interesting.

I no longer have class and instead am wholey consumed by a 120 page group project that Im doing on the media and Western/US hegemeny with a touch of Marxist, Gramsci, theory and Counter hegemonic blocs sprinkled in.  Please, feel free to ask me any of your burning questions.

Trying to figure out what to do for the holidays, and spent a pretty uneventful Halloween and Thanksgiving here.  Can you believe Denmark still doesn't celebrate our favorite holidays? ;)

Sorry, I know its too much already.  I just am used to talking to many of you all the time, and its been a while.

Take care and happy holidays.  Stop by any time if your in the neighborhood.  Ill be around.  I wont be back for the holidays and probably not for summer, so...be good.

Matt

Ny Kastevej 16, Room 10
9000 Aalborg
Denmark
Tel: +45 5056 9277

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November 24, 2003:

Hi Professors,

I have been eagerly planning on writing you and letting you know how things have been going, and about how much I am enjoying this program that you two were so instramental in getting me in.

I am in Aalborg, Denmark, just over 2 months into the program. The masters program that I am doing is Development and International Relations, and for the first semester we are combined with the European Studies masters program. There are just under 100 students in the two degrees, each lasting two years. There are roughly 30 countries represented as well in one classroom: 1/3 from Denmark, and 2/3 from China, India, Russia, France, Spain, Mexico, Ghana, Etheopia, Mozambeque and many more. There are about 5 Americans (all from the east coast) and about 5 Canadians,and we are the only ones from english speaking countries, although all speak very good engish. I sometimes wonder if more education takes place over dinner or a few drinks then in the classroom, as we are constantly asking about, arguing over and explaining our countries, governments and lifestyles.

The first two months were spent in classrooms, lectured by a half dozen full time professors and a good number of guest lecturers (Tim Dunne, Johan Galtung--from U of Hawaii on "The Fall of the US Empire," subsequently outlining 14 points that show that the US has roughly 20 years before it collapses, Elmar Altvater from Berlin and Xiangming Chen from U of Illinois at Chicago, if you know any of those names).

One thing that is striking and interesting is the amount of America bashing that almost seems instatutionalized into the program. I know, and the students have explained how much the enviornment has changed from being looked up to with Clinton, dissapointed by Bush, energetically sypathetic towards America after 9/11, to downright resentful, hurt, fearful and hostile to almost anything that is done now. the last part of my final exam asked to explain how America's actions in the last 2 years have undermined all that most countries and the UN have been fighting for, and I dont think that there has been a day that has gone by that the US was not spoken up, and only once or twice in a positive light.

I do not agree with everything, almost anything in fact that the current administration is doing, nor do the other Americans, but we feel in a tight spot between trying to defend a country that is great, and agreeing with and trying to stop things that are not. Just thought that might be interesting as an insight into what is being taught on the other side of the pond in a similer enviornment.

These second two months are spent solely in group projects. Mine is with a Dane, Bulgarian, and Canadian on wheather a western hegemonic media is unfairly biasing the world agenda, and wheather a Gramscian 'Hegemonic Bloc' is emerging from the shadows in the form of Al Jazerra and other entities, and comparing and contrasting the world opinion from Gulf War I to II. Next semester will be the same. Third will be spent doing an internship somewhere in the world, and the fouth, back in Denmark writing my final thesis.

So far it's been amazing. The classes are very thourough, recources pretty good, library great, but have to share space obviously with Danish material, but the majority is in English, the school is ugly, but the city is beautiful...and cold. Anyway, that was probably already too much detail, but I really wanted to let you both know where I was, that your hard work and kind efforts to write a letter of recomendation paid off and were greatly appreciated by me...and my parents maybe even more so who were able to get me out of the house! Thanks again for your time, I miss our talks and take care.

Matt Maccalla

Matt I. MacCalla
Ny Kastetvej 16, Room 10
9000 Aalborg, Denmark
Phone # +45 50 56 92 77

m_maccalla@hotmail.com

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