Global Arc

Journalists play a crucial role in intellectual life. They popularize and challenge the work of scholars and scientists, probe the world views that motivate political actors, and bring philosophical debates to the surface of public life, making the case for their relevance and even their urgency. In this course we will read and study works of intellectual narrative journalism. We will look at writerly strategies for conveying and distilling complexity within storytelling, and we will produce our own journalism.

Students will learn the basics of local reporting by plunging into Parisian life, from afar and on the ground. They will explore how small intimate places in a city can have larger meaning for an entire society. We will examine what makes certain spaces--a multi-ethnic suburb of Paris, a museum, or a building--more controversial or problematic than others. Students will produce a body of journalistic work based on historical and archival research, interviews, investigation, and field work in Paris during spring break.

You have strong beliefs--and you want to be a journalist. Is there a conflict between advocacy and good journalism? How do these issues play out in today's changing media landscape? Seminar participants will work out ethical issues, and their own responsibility as journalists, individuals, and members of a global community, while working rigorously on their own reporting, self-editing, and non-fiction writing abilities. Students will also explore multimedia and digital options as outlets for their work.

This seminar will examine reporting after war with a focus on post-conflict nation building in Bosnia. After conflict ends, most countries face a challenging period of physical, political, and societal reconstruction; it takes skilled journalists to cover these efforts deeply and intelligently on behalf of local citizens and global policymakers. Using Bosnia as a case study with in-field reporting over fall break, students in this course will explore broad themes of post-conflict reporting while developing journalistic skills to collect engaging material and craft impactful narratives.

In 2015 more than a million refugees crossed into Europe, sparking a 'crisis' that continues to this day. A new chapter of this story is unfolding in European courtrooms, where survivors, lawyers, and human rights activists are pursuing justice through universal jurisdiction, which allows the prosecution of war crimes regardless of the nationality or country of residence of the accused. This course will introduce students to the challenges and opportunities involved in covering the quest for post-war accountability in Europe. Students will learn reporting and analytic skills, and use them to produce their own original works of journalism.

This seminar combines classroom work with field reporting, placing students on the front lines of history in Greece, where they will learn and employ the critical thinking skills and best practices used by accomplished foreign correspondents. Notebooks in hand, students will spend time in Athens and in and around refugee camps on the island of Lesbos, learning to cover the chaotic world beyond our borders. While producing articles, videos and photo stories worthy of publication, students will build confidence operating in the field and gain insight into current events, including the Syrian refugee crisis and the Greek financial collapse.

Storytelling shapes the public narratives around wars, and journalists face massive challenges in witnessing and communicating complex global conflicts. Focusing on empathy and rigorously independent thought, this course will examine tried and tested lessons of celebrated 20th-century war reporting as well as newer techniques and perspectives that ready reporters for the intricate landscape of contemporary conflicts. Students will learn foundational journalistic skills and approaches used to produce sensitive, compelling reporting in the face of online warfare and misinformation campaigns.