Teaching Beyond the Curriculum
Abstract
This presentation explores the creation of the inaugural undergraduate service-learning study abroad program Environmental Media Production in Greece at Tulane University. The program centers on a four-credit Digital Media Practices course, Producing Media for Social Change, which supported six groups of three students each in the production of visual media stories (short documentaries, PSAs, photo essays, and social media campaigns) while studying abroad in Athens, Greece in the summer of 2023. These group projects were developed, produced, and published in extensive collaboration with Ecogenia, a new, community-based organization that aims to educate young Greeks about environmental sustainability and foster a culture of civic engagement. Students became active learners through this reciprocal process, integrating the skills and information from community work with the theory and curriculum of the classroom to understand tangible ways in which visual storytelling can foster change. Making this process as seamless as possible, i.e., allowing the students to enjoy and think creatively about the work itself while in country, required detailed planning concerning logistics and contingencies. How would students respond to the limitations demanded by the course, namely producing media in collaboration with a community partner? Could they be creative while abroad, some for the first time? This presentation will explore these questions while underscoring the demands placed on faculty, students, and community partners for effective and creative community-engaged media production.
Casey Beck is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, and photographer. Her debut short film Mongolia: Land Without Fences premiered online on FRONTLINE/World in 2007. After completing a Fulbright scholarship in Argentina, she was the First Unit Director of Ballplayer: Pelotero, a New York Times’ Critics Pick. Her two films about water contamination, Downstream (2018) and The Great Divide (2020), have won numerous awards and screened around the globe. The films were published in tandem with investigative journalistic pieces by the Investigative Reporting Workshop and YaleE360.