The Documentary Turn: Southern Culture

Traces the convergence of traditional 20th c. documentary narrative (oral history, photography, film, and ethnography) with emergent 21st c. technologies (digital platforms, crowd-sourced communications, viral information) that expand and test definitions of documentary practice. Course looks for unexpected outcomes and future possibilities at the intersections of analog and digital practice. Focus is on the cultures of the American South with an understanding of that region as mapped within a global imaginary. Requirements include experimental documentary project that combines storytelling (visual/literary), performance (theater/dance/music) or investigative research (oral/archival).