SPEC 11
Pod Save Williams: Audio Stories about Making the College More Sustainable Winter 2019

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Class Details

How can we all create a more sustainable Williams? In this course students will explore sustainability challenges, successes, obstacles, and opportunities on the Williams campus by interviewing staff, faculty, and fellow students and then weaving those interviews into compelling audio stories for the campus community. Students will study interviewing, storytelling, and podcasting best practices and will use what they learn to create interesting podcasts that are both rich in content and in sound. Guiding questions will include: How is sustainability being integrated – or not – into the operations of campus? What daily activities are most impactful both carbon emissions-wise and ethos-wise? How do social justice and environmental justice intersect with sustainability on campus and in this region? Who are the unsung “campus sustainability heroes”? What opportunities and challenges lay ahead related to these issues? How does one tell a story in a way that is universal or at least relevant to one’s intended audience? What are the opportunities to enhance storytelling by using an audio format as the medium? Informative and impressive podcast creations will be used as resources on the Williams sustainability website and will be posted to Stitcher, iTunes, and Soundcloud. A number of assignments will involve listening to and critically analyzing podcasts. Our time together will be a combination of learning about campus sustainability issues, analyzing content and audio choices, practicing interview techniques, and getting feedback from peers. Adjunct Instructor Bio: Mike Evans is the Assistant Director of the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives at Williams College. Prior to working at Williams, he was the associate director of Utahns Against Hunger and founded and directed Real Food Rising, a youth-empowerment sustainable farming program.
The Class: Format: mornings
Limit: 11
Grading: pass/fail only
Requirements/Evaluation: evaluation will be based on participation, two short essays, and a final project
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: preference will be given to sophomores and juniors and the need to create a group that is diverse in terms of majors and interests
Materials/Lab Fee: cost of books

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