American Civilization III: Documentary Projects - Georgetown College

American Civilization III: Documentary was organized around documentary as a mode of engaging the cultural history of the first half of the 20th Century. Since the period under consideration, 1890 – 1945, was marked by the explosive development of audio-visual media, especially film, the course asked students to view and analyze both period and contemporary documentary films as visual and aural evidence of the social, political, and cultural history of America. Students read documentary theory, film theory, histories, and primary accounts from the period.

As the major project in the course, students in small groups collaborated to produce short documentary videos engaging American social history during the period. Each group consisted of a producer, a writer, a director of photography, and an editor. Each student had both individual and group responsibilities for researching, writing, shooting, and editing the documentaries. The documentaries have been cataloged by Lauinger Library and are part of the permanent collection of the Gelardin New Media Center.