PLAYA GIRON, Cuba, 30 September 2011 — AU Abroad students watch a documentary about the failed U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. Six American University students are studying this semester at Casa de las Americas, Cuba’s premier cultural center in Havana. I’m teaching my Photojournalism and Social Documentary class, the foundation for the methodology […]
PLAYA GIRON, Cuba, 30 September 2011 — AU Abroad students studying in Cuba this fall semester tour the Museo Playa Giron memorializing the U.S.-backed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. A large mortar used during the invasion is seen in the foreground. Six American University students are studying this semester at Casa de las Americas, […]
HAVANA, Cuba, 18 September 2011 — Here’s one of the images I made along Havana’s Malecon sea wall this weekend. While not teaching a class of American University students, I’m trying to re-connect with the country that I first visited as a correspondent for United Press International (UPI) in 1981. I visit now as a […]
HAVANA, Cuba, 18 September 2011 — This is the beginning of a very long day hunting images for freelance work here in Cuba. I spotted this fisherman casting lines into Havana Bay, with fishing vessels in the background. I’m in Havana from 22 August through 20 December, teaching a group of AU Abroad students my […]
Erin Finicane has proven a long-standing tenet of documentary: The craft is an effective tool for social change. Erin is a second year graduate student at American University pursuing an MFA in Film and Electronic Media. She hopes to use documentary and related media as a tool for education, engaging audiences in the stories behind […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 7 August 2011 — The Backpack Journalism Workshop ended with some very impressive work by all participants. This has been one of the best workshops that we’ve ever conducted in terms of the dynamic among participants, the flow of the four-day event and the quality of the products. In addition to the in-class […]