Sociologist C. Wright Mills believed that one of the most powerful things a person can do is learn to connect their own life to the larger forces that shaped it. For Mills it was important for the engaged citizen to see how history, politics, and social structure show up in the most personal corners of experience. This course starts there, and asks: what happens when you try to write, film, or record that connection? 

The essay, in all its forms across media (written, visual, film/video, audio), turns out to be one of the best tools we have for that kind of thinking. It is a form built for trying things out, for saying “I’m not sure yet, but here is what I see.” From Montaigne to the activist documentary, from personal essays to podcasts and photo essays, we will read, watch, and listen to people using the essay to make sense of their lives in relation to the world around them. Students will also make their own work, discovering that their particular experience and perspective is not a limitation but a starting point for serious, socially engaged thinking which in turn can guide efforts towards making the world a better place.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The program will meet Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30-8:30. Students will also be expected to spend two hours per week on asynchronous instructional activities.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

4 - Introduction to Media Studies

4 - Introduction to Sociology