Taught By:
Nicole Richter
Associate Professor, Director
Critical Media & Cultural Studies, Film Studies
Rollins College
Read profile here.
Motivation to Teach Social Action:
At the core of most of the courses I teach is a focus on engaged citizenship, activism, and advocacy. My students create promotion campaigns for peace and justice issues, but it is not formalized as social action campaigns. I would love to gain experience and expertise in experiential learning as well as learn the most effective pedagogical techniques for teaching active democracy. There is potential across many of my courses to incorporate this social action model.
Course Description:
How can we use media as tools for change? How can we raise consciousness, our own and others’, then translate that into action? In this course, we not only study media but also engage in hands-on learning, developing and applying our talents to the pursuit of peace and justice.
This community engagement class examines the intersection of film and peace studies, exploring how cinema can portray, analyze, and contribute to the understanding of conflicts, their causes, and potential resolutions.
Drawing inspiration from the Global Peace Film Festival (GPFF), peace studies, and activist movements, students will critically engage with the portrayal of violence, diplomacy, social justice, and reconciliation in cinema. Through experiential learning, discussions, screenings, readings, and assignments, students will gain insight into the complexities of peacebuilding and conflict transformation as both represented in film, and as created through engaged local community action. Students will learn how to utilize media as a tool for raising awareness, fostering dialogue, and driving positive social change.
