A semester of creative curriculums at Harvard
This story is part of a series about the ways in which faculty are innovating and planning for fall classes online. Musa Syeed views having the students in his film course geographically scattered as a unique opportunity. His plan for this fall is to study a community-engaged approach to documentary filmmaking, and each of the 12 undergrads enrolled will produce a short film from wherever they are living. Video will be shot on personal smartphones, but supplemented by snap-on lenses, cinema video apps, and external audio recorders — some of which will be mailed to students. “Remote learning actually presents a real opportunity for a community-based film workshop, since students can now document communities far beyond campus — communities they’ve likely grown up in, or spent significant time in,” said the Briggs-Copeland Lecturer in English, who will lead the workshop “Get Real: The Art of Community-Based Film.” “I’m hoping we’ll not only...