2009 Fall ENVIRON 172S-01
Bulletin Course Description Technical and aesthetic training in creating documentaries to communicate critical environmental issues so as to affect societal change. History of the essential role of documentary photography in land conservation, social justice, and protection of biodiversity from the early 1800's to today leads into individual documentary projects. Taught at the Center for Documentary Studies using state of the art camera and audio recording equipment and methods for web and gallery exhibition. Seminar, studio, and study of photography in university archives and field trips. Consent of Instructor required. Instructor: Satterwhite
(Instructor named in bulletin description above may not be current. For current instructor, see listing below.)
Title DOCUMENTING THE ENVIRONMENT Department ENVIRON Course Number 2009 Fall 172S Section Number 01 Primary Instructor Satterwhite,Lisa L. Prerequisites
Synopsis of course content
Studio course in the documentary arts designed to give students the technical and aesthetic training to create documentaries that will communicate critical environmental issues so as to affect societal change. After historical survey of the essential role of documentary photography in land conservation, social justice, and protection of biodiversity from the early 1800’s to today, each student will identify a problem of compelling societal concern, propose a solution and create a documentary through in-depth research and extended interview with communities or individuals, scientists, physicians, visual artists, social workers, those from government of business sectors, or simply by the telling of one’s own experiences. Students will consider ethics in philosophical (moral) and legal contexts as related to their documentary work.
Taught at the Center for Documentary Studies, using state of the art camera and audio recording equipment and methods for web and gallery exhibition, students will have freedom to choose their subjects and the opportunity for public exhibition. Seminar, studio, and study of photography in university archives and field trips, this course is an adventure!
Textbooks
Assigned readings.
Assignments
Students will create a documentary of three components:
1. Exhibition quality portfolio consisting of 10-20 photographs with descriptive essays using any combination of the following supplied by CDS (1-3, 6) and others (4-5):
1) Large format film view cameras
2) Medium format film cameras
3) Digital single lens reflex cameras
4) Microscopes with CCD arrays
5) Telescopes with CCD arrays
6) Digital audio recorders
2. Essay describing the research and proposed solutions.
3. Public exhibition in both gallery and on-line settings.
Exams
Exams take the form of informal critiques of photographs and presentations of the documentaries.
Grade to be based on
Attendance 20%
Short assignments 10%
Mid-term 20%
Final 50%
Additional Information
Instructor information:
Lisa Satterwhite, an artist and a biologist, holds a B.A. in Fine Art and Art History and an M.S. in Zoology from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology from Johns Hopkins University. A cancer research fellow at Princeton University, where she studied photography in the Program for Visual Arts, she uses photography and basic research to tackle issues of health inequity and social justice. Her current photographic work documents cultural erasure from unrestricted land development in the mountains and explores sense of place, belonging, and stewardship. A series of interviews and portraits explore how women of color feel about our recent election. In her research, Satterwhite is creating a new toxicity testing paradigm that will predict whether agricultural pesticides will lead to birth defects.
