GED 596 - Digital Media: A Place Based Approach

This course offers an innovative, place-based, hands-on experience with digital photography and offers pragmatic ways to integrate digital media into 21st century classrooms. Students will learn how to use Photoshop and photography to explore a community of their choice and create a visual narrative from an their own perspective. A majority of daily personal interaction with others has become mediated through electronic devices such as cell phone, social media and email. This trend in communication distances us from our neighbors and precludes casual interactions that stem from being present and open to chance one to one encounters with people who are not “friends” or part of our address book. What we learn about others is often not from authentic experience. The aim of this class is to explore a community that the student is either already part of, such as workplace or civic group, or a community that they are interested in learning about. For purposes of this class community is defined as most any group, it may be religious, cultural, ethnic, educational, family, geographic. The culmination of this course will be an exhibition of the project in a forum appropriate to the student’s chosen community. Individual and community support and reflection will be embedded into the course. No prior experience with digital photography or Photoshop is required. Any type of cameras may be used.

Credits: 3 cr.

Crosslisted: Crosslisted with GSA 586.