FTS 2605 B (CRN: 95821)

Film & Television Studies: Leahy Oral History Internship (B)

3 credit hours

About FTS 2605 B

Topics in film and video production. May repeat for credit with different content. Topics vary by offering; periodic offering at intervals that may exceed four years. Prerequisites: FTS 1300, FTS 1320, FTS 1400, FTS 1420, or FTS 1430.

Notes

Prereqs enforced by the system: FTS 1400, or FTS 1420, or FTS 1430 or FTS 1300 or 1320; FTS majors, minors, and RDS minors only for the first week of registration or instructor permission

Section URL

https://go.uvm.edu/vp-uvm

Section Description

Document the stories behind the legislation in this oral history project in collaboration with the UVM Libraries Silver Special Collections and the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships.

Senator Patrick Leahy represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023, making him the third-longest-serving U.S. senator in history.

He championed legislation related to human rights and civil liberties, agriculture and food, environmental conservation, cyber security, rural development, and more.

After 50 years in the Senate, there are a lot of stories. (Have you heard about the time he got Lake Champlain designated as a Great Lake?)

In this class, we'll construct an oral history project built around interviews with dozens of staffers who worked with Senator Leahy. Over the course of the semester, you'll conduct two long-form audio interviews with two Leahy staffers, and then edit them down into short and compelling audio portraits. The full interviews will be archived with the Library Special Collections, and the short portraits will be published on a website. The goal is to find and highlight the "human stories behind the legislation."

This class is for anyone jazzed about audio storytelling, oral history, documentary, in-depth interviewing, archiving and preservation, history, politics, and Vermont.

Section Expectation

This is a small class where we'll all work together to build this new, public-facing oral history project. We'll be doing real-world work together in real-time, so there's an expectation that this course runs more like an internship or a job than a traditional class.

Students in this course will do research, conduct at least two oral history interviews with former Leahy staffers, and write, produce, and receive feedback on two short audio stories. Students will follow oral history standards and ethics. Students will work alone and in groups. In-class time will be devoted to skills-based learning, discussion and peer-editing, so students will complete most of the production work outside of class. Students can expect to spend 5-6 hours each week working on projects outside of class time.

Evaluation

The class will evaluate projects, feedback integration, active participation, attendance, and meeting deadlines. The class is predominantly project-based and discussion-based, and includes weekly required readings and required listening.

Important Dates

Note: These dates may change before registration begins.

Courses may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Show your interest by enrolling.

Last Day to Add
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Last Day to Withdraw with 50% Refund
Last Day to Withdraw with 25% Refund
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