Abstract:

The purpose of this presentation is to share how students of the Documentary Production interdisciplinary course (offered in Summer 2012 at Boise State University) were able to produce a documentary: Latino Community in Treasure Valley, Idaho - now used in several courses in the Spanish and Bilingual Departments at Boise State University. The documentary was directed by Fabio Caramaschi (an Italian award winning documentary filmmaker) and supervised by myself (professor in the Bilingual Department), and Peter Lutze (professor in the Communication Department). The investigative component of this class allowed students to engage in proving and verifying what they knew about the Latino community, and what they were learning from the assigned readings. Most importantly, however, students were involved in researching what they did not know, and in the final product, to communicate to others what they had learned. Moreover, students became curious about the community history and the experiences of its members, since during the class they were pushed to ask critical questions. As Freire (2010) points out, curiosity to learn more propels students to dig deeper, and search for other informants to contribute to the knowledge they are creating. Latinos are a vibrant part of the Treasure Valley, but unfortunately they are often invisible to others, and in many occasions they are made to be voiceless. The Documentary Production class provided a unique opportunity (not often granted to students in undergraduate or graduate college programs) to have a hands-on experience, learning about a specific community, in this case the Latino Community in the Treasure Valley, Idaho, while learning how to make a documentary.

References:
Freire, P. (2010). Pedagogía de la autonomía y otros textos. La Habana, Cuba: Editorial Caminos.

Keywords:

Film, education, interdisciplinary, research, critical education, community.