Nonfiction Media: Sustainability and Justice

REVISED

Fall 2012, Winter 2013 and Spring 2013 quarters

Faculty

Laurie Meeker (F,W) film and video production, media theory , Anne de Marcken (Forbes) (S) creative writing, moving-image media , Marilyn Freeman media arts, film and television, creative writing

Fields of Study

communications, cultural studies, media arts, media studies, moving image and sustainability studies

Preparatory for studies or careers in

media, visual art and communication.

Prerequisites

Two quarters of an Evergreen interdisiplinary program or the equivalent. This foundational program in media arts assumes no prior experience in media, but does require upper-division college-level critical thinking, reading and writing skills.

Description

This is the foundational program for moving image practices at Evergreen. This program will continue to emphasize the study of media technology and hands-on production practices along with the study of film/video history and theory. This year our work as filmmakers will be placed in the service of both sustainability and justice. A number of academic programs have begun to center their inquiry on important issues facing us and our planet--climate change, environmental justice, the relationship between people and the land, the sustainability of human and natural communities--issues that are vital to our well-being and the health of the planet. How do we engage these issues as filmmakers and artists? Can our work make a difference?

Engaging media history and theory will be central to developing strategies of representation in our own work as producers of media. We will examine the history of documentary filmmaking to explore the strategies filmmakers have developed to represent "reality." We will study non-fiction filmmaking practices through screenings, readings, research projects, writing, and seminar discussions. One thread of our inquiry will focus on media addressing sustainability and justice--how have filmmakers placed their work in the service of political struggle, sustainability, justice, and the environment? Another thread of our inquiry will address critical alternatives to mainstream media, including autobiography, the history of experimental film and video art, and essayistic video. We will also address the politics of representation in relation to race, class and gender. Most people agree that media has the power to educate, as well as influence attitudes and behavior. Can media artists contribute to social change? As artists, how do we enter the debates around social and political justice, around energy, the environment and climate change? How does political media function in the discourses surrounding these issues?

During fall and winter, students will develop media production skills as they engage a series of design problems thematically related to sustainability and justice, which provides a context for our work. The "sustainability and justice" framework will be broadly defined, and students can expect to create work that uses a variety of representational strategies, from documentary, to essayistic, to personal and autobiographical. We will explore a variety of production techniques, including a focus on audio production, an exploration of the image through cinematography, and the study of digital media production. Collaboration, a skill learned through practice, will be an important aspect of this learning community. Students will be expected to commit to a number of collaborative projects as well as working independently. The spring quarter will be devoted to developing independent media projects through research, proposal writing and media production.

This program will link with other academic programs studying sustainability and justice, and we will work to develop collaborative projects addressing issues under the sustainability and justice umbrella.

Academic Website

http://blogs.evergreen.edu/nonfictionmedia2012/

Location

Olympia

Online Learning

Enhanced Online Learning

Books

Greener Store

Required Fees

$300 per quarter for media production supplies in fall/winter.

Special Expenses

$300 for individual projects in spring.

Offered During

Day

Program Revisions