Documentary Principles and Practice: Place as Character
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Spring 2013

Including faculty, schedule, credits, CRN and location.

Level: Undergraduate
Division: The New School for Public Engagement
School: School of Media Studies
Department: Communication
Course Number: NCOM 3036
Course Format: Lecture
Location: Online
Permission Required: No
Topics:
  • Media Studies
  • Sound Design
  • Non-fiction
Description:
This course introduces documentary media (film, print, photography, audio) in which landscape figures as a central character. The course begins by developing a definition of "landscape" that applies to both natural and manmade. Students read theoretical writings that explore the way human beings navigate and remember space and architecture. They study landscape in nonfiction narratives by Susan Stewart, Elyssa East, Matthew Buckingham, and Barbara Kopple--mysteries, elegies, social commentaries, and exposés. Over the academic term, students integrate the technical and theoretical components of the class by constructing their own documentary works. This course is an excellent workshop for anyone interested in documentary fieldwork, photography, nonfiction writing, sound studies, and multimedia journalism.