This is my third time teaching this course and the first year I am incorporating a significant semester-based project where students will create their own ethnographic films on a subject they are passionate about. The course will begin with a theoretical and historical overview of the genre of ethnographic film. Students will then identify a real-world issue, context or community they are interested in exploring from a visual ethnographic perspective. We will then learn about research methods in visual anthropology and students will embark on their own fieldwork journeys collecting data. I envision several workshops in the later half of the semester for students to learn how to create compelling stories and narratives with their visual and ethnographic data. At the end of the semester we will have a film screening to showcase each of the student films. The course aligns with PBL high-impact practices that allow students to explore and identify real-world problems to critically engage and produce a meaningful project that they can share with their classmates and community. Because many students will also develop an e-portfolio in their senior capstone, I envision their ethnographic films to be showpieces that demonstrate their skills and unique perspectives. 

This course is closely aligned with several of the NACE Career Readiness Competencies. Perhaps the strongest and most unique, particularly for a social science course, is Technology. In the production of ethnographic films, students will have the opportunity to learn new technologies and programs and utilize them to create visual portraits of ethnographic data. In the collection of their data, they will learn Communication skills and engage with a range of interlocutors. In crafting the narratives for their films, students will develop strong Critical Thinking skills. They will not only gather and analyze data, but make editorial decisions to create the most compelling and effective products. I have not yet decided if students will work in teams/groups, or on their own (would love to chat with colleagues about this!), but either way I hope to create a classroom community that supports creativity and Teamwork. My goal is to create a learning opportunity that will give students a complete and finished project that they can then showcase and discuss with future employers. The ultimate goal of the course is to give students the concrete skills to enhance Leadership and Professionalism.