Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
Harvard Kennedy School
IGA 380-M: HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY USING VIDEO, SOCIAL MEDIA
AND PARTICIPATORY MEDIA
January Session 2015
Instructor: Sam Gregory, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, and Director of
Program, WITNESS (www.witness.org)
January 5-14, 2015
CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR
Sam Gregory can be reached at Sam_Gregory@hks.harvard.edu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Civil society actors press for the effective enforcement of human rights laws and
mechanisms at a national and international level - documenting, report-writing,
organizing, lobbying and conducting legal advocacy. Many new forms of
advocacy are incorporating video, mobile communications and social media.
These enable enhanced engagement, mobilization and participation by
concerned citizens -- both acting with formal NGOs and within formal structures,
and increasingly in decentralized and ad-hoc networks.
Aided by the spread in low-cost, high-quality technologies, video and moving
image media are becoming increasingly ubiquitous and multi-form (even though
a considerable digital divide exists in terms of access, literacy and skills both
within and between societies across the globe); video will soon be part of every
communications and advocacy strategy. Increasing moving image creation,
usage and literacy defines much of the experience of a connected younger
generation, particularly in the Global North and within certain sectors of Global
South society.
Use of video, including particularly mobile video, has publicized and documented
many emerging human rights struggles from Rangoon, to Oakland, to Tehran,
and most recently the 'Arab Spring' and ‘Occupy’ movements, and characterizes
many vibrant citizen media spaces that fill niches long ignored or abandoned by
the mainstream media.
However, strategic, directed, impact-driven use of video remains under-utilized
as an intervention by either NGOs or citizen networks in human rights spaces
including treaty monitoring systems, legislative debates, lobbying of decisionmakers, and community organizing. Many human rights actors do not yet have
the skills, connections or experience to organize, aggregate or coordinate others'
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
audiovisual media including citizen media content in spaces like YouTube, create
their own targeted advocacy media for specific audiences, collaborate to develop
compelling material with professional or citizen storytellers, or to link their
strategic use of video to new participatory technologies that enhance creation,
distribution, and debate, such as mobile, social media, data visualization,
mapping and Web 2.0 tools. Policy advocates encounter new challenges as they
consider how citizen media and technology usage for activism is enabled or
curtailed by government policy and adhoc decisions and the actions of private
sector actors such as mobile and online service providers.
This course, taught by a leading practitioner of using video, social media and
participatory technologies for human rights advocacy, will combine a focus on practical
advocacy skills for using video, as well as social media (particularly as it relates to
video) and other networked/participatory media with analytical discussion, expert guest
speakers, exercises and review of topline emerging trends and overarching policy
questions.
Although not focused on technical skills in video production it will include a
optional session on filming the basic building blocks of video testimony that are
utilized in many settings.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
In order to increase the capacity of human rights policy practitioners, activists,
advocates and campaigners to understand, analyze, evaluate and/or integrate
the use of video and related social and participatory media in advocacy
campaigns:
Participants will discuss and deepen their knowledge of:


A range of approaches to incorporating visual media, particularly video and
related multimedia into their campaigns, highlighted through case studies
(including a range of international and US examples) as well as
review/discussion of best practices.
New and social media-based approaches to advocacy incorporating the
power of participation and networks
Participants will learn how to:
 Plan the strategic use of video and related media as a tool for change in a
human rights campaign, and apply this learning to their own work
 Make appropriate decisions on safety, security and consent in a digital era
 Craft effective advocacy narratives utilizing moving image media –
‘storytelling for action’
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
Participants will be introduced to:
 Social-media based approaches to advocacy more broadly
 Mobile-based approaches to video and documentation
 Emergent live and immersive approaches to human rights documentation and
advocacy
 Key debates and questions in the field of human rights, social media,
technology and advocacy
PREREQUISITES
There are no prerequisites for participation in IGA-380M. However, students
without previous professional or academic background in either human rights or
advocacy strategy should read the following in advance of the class: Andrew
Clapham. Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press,
2007. This course is also a good complement to other IGA courses covering
Human Rights – particularly, IGA-384, Tools for Human Rights Practice. No
background in visual or social media is required.
COURSE METHODOLOGY
The course methodology is based on adult learning principles. This assumes that
learning will draw on, ground and anchor the topics in participants’ experience,
add new information and theory, and where possible provide the opportunities for
participants to apply the new information in a controlled, facilitated environment,
and then take the material away to utilize it in their professional development.
The course will additionally try to ensure:
Relevance - All content is relevant to participants’ needs
Immediacy - Where possible, all learning is immediately useful to participants
The curriculum model includes:
 Presentations, dialogues, group discussions, forums and debates on key
aspects of video and related multimedia advocacy drawing on facilitators’,
guest speakers’ and participants’ experience
 Small group discussion and a ‘seminar’-style approach to classroom debate
 Case studies, incorporating video screenings and discussions, from
WITNESS, participant experiences and peer practitioners
 Demonstrations of skills, simulations and hands-on projects to practice skills
 Group and individual exercises
 Teaching and learning teams working on specific thematic issues or regional
clusters
The course begins on January 5th and concludes on January 14th, 2015
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
COURSE FORMAT
The course starts Monday January 5th and includes nine sessions. It will meet
1:30-5:30pm each day of class. Please note there is no session on Friday
January 9th.
Based on class interest, there will be an optional technical session confirmed for
one of the mornings of the class schedule.
A. In-Class Meetings
The class will meet in a room TBD at the Harvard Kennedy School from 1:305:30pm beginning on Monday, January 5th and concluding on Wednesday
January 14th. There will be no class on Friday January 9th. There will be a midafternoon break in the course each day. Guest speakers will participate in a
number of classes – primarily via Skype Video Chat and Google Hangout.
Class participation counts for 40% of the final grade. Students are expected to
attend every class (with notification to instructors beforehand for an excused
absence) and to actively engage in discussions and group work.
On one morning during the class (date TBC) there will be an optional hands-on
skills session focused on developing a basic level of skill in shooting
interviews/testimonies and documenting visual evidence. Participants will be
taught how to recognize and apply the key techniques of filming including
composition and framing, shot-sizes and camera movements, stability, sound
recording, interview techniques, and continuity. Participants will practice filming
an interview, including learning how to secure informed consent. Participation in
this session has no bearing on credit/grades.
B. Preparation for Class
The course will involve daily viewings and readings requiring up to two hours.
Students are required to come to class prepared to discuss the day’s readings.
These readings and viewings are included in the syllabus but are subject to
change as they will often involve current web video and blog posts. Optional
readings and viewings are provided for those who want to engage further with
particular topics.
These readings will be available online at the HKS Course Page for IGA-380M
and, pending confirmation, there will be a limited number of hard copies available
on loan at the HKS Carr Center for Human Rights Policy or at the HKS Library.
All participants will also be expected to follow and contribute to a class Twitter
hashtag #iga380, highlighting resources and discussion points.
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
C. Assignments
Assignment 1 (due January 10th 2pm): All participants will be expected to draft
an analysis of a usage of video and related social media in advocacy based on
principles, readings and approaches discussed in the first week of class.
Analyses should be written in a blog-style (no footnotes required), and should be
between 500-1000 words.
Assignment 2 (due January 24th, 6pm): All participants will be asked to draft an
effective S.M.A.R.T. visual and participatory media strategy for a human rights
advocacy setting. Participants may either choose a context with which they
themselves are familiar, or the Instructor will provide some template scenarios for
participants to use as a basis for the assignment. A set of guiding questions will
be provided to all students.
D. Grading
The HKS Academic Council has issued recommendations on grading policy that
includes the following curve: A (10%-15%), A- (20%-25%), B+ (30%-40%), B (2025%), B- and lower (5%-10%). Participation and assignments will be weighted as
follows:
•Participation in class, including contribution to class and small groups
discussions, participation in comments on discussion board, short responses to
readings, and contribution to Twitter feed (40%)
•Assignment 1: 25%
•Assignment 2: 35%
Late assignments without prior approval will be penalized by one grade.
A Note on Academic Honesty
Discussion and the exchange of ideas are essential to academic work. For
assignments in this course, you are actively encouraged to consult with your
classmates on the choice of paper topics, to discuss ideas and to share sources.
You may find it useful to discuss your chosen topic with your peers, particularly if
you are working on the same topic as a classmate.
However, you should ensure that any written work you submit for evaluation is
the result of your own research and writing and that it in its synthesis it reflects
your own approach to the topic. You must also adhere to standard citation
practices (unless noted otherwise by instructor for particular assignments) and
properly cite any books, articles, videos, websites, lectures, etc. that have helped
you with your work. If you receive any help with your writing (e.g., feedback on
drafts), you must also acknowledge this assistance.
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
CLASS SCHEDULE, READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS
Session 1 Monday January 5th. Visual and Social Media Advocacy:
Questions of Scope and Impact
On the first day we will focus on key theoretical issues that will recur in the
course including the linkage between visual media and advocacy impact,
questions of who is the participant/producer/audience and the challenges of an
information-dense environment. We will discuss our understanding of the
evidentiary or ‘truth’ value of visual media, and reflect on the dilemmas of using
testimony, visual evidence and graphic imagery.
As a grounding point and to develop an initial framing for the course, we will
discuss participants’ own experiences of effective moving image/visual image
advocacy, and will look back at events of 2011-4, in particular the so-called ‘Arab
Spring’ and subsequent events, as well as less-discussed human rights
situations.
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, small group exercises, and
debrief.
Required Readings/Viewings
- Sean Aday, Henry Farrell, Marc Lynch, John Sides, Deen Freelon. Blogs and
Bullets II: New Media and Conflict After The Arab Spring, Peaceworks No. 80,
Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2012:
http://www.usip.org/publications/blogs-and-bullets-ii-new-media-and-conflictafter-the-arab-spring
- Sam Gregory. The Participatory Panopticon and Human Rights: WITNESS'
Experience Supporting Video Advocacy and Future Possibilities in ‘Sensible
Politics: The Visual Culture of Nongovernmental Activism.’ Zone Books, 2012,
edited by Meg McLagan and Yates McKee
- John Pollock. Streetbook: How Egyptian and Tunisian youth hacked the Arab
Spring in MIT Technology Review, September/October 2011:
http://www.technologyreview.com/web/38379/?mod=ArabSpring_sidestory
- Zeynep Tufekci. New Media and the People-Powered Uprisings in MIT
Technology Review, September/October 2011,
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/guest/27122/?p1=blogs
Optional Readings
- Clifford Bob. Insurgent Groups and the Quest for Overseas Support, in ‘The
Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media and International Activism’,
Chapter 1: pp.1-13 (Cambridge University Press: 2005)
- Margaret E. Keck and Katherine Sikkink. Transnational Advocacy Networks in
Regional and International Politics, International Social Science Journal,
Volume 51, Issue 159, pp 89-101, March 1999 (recommended for introduction
to underlying approaches in much international advocacy)
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
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Merlyna Lim, Framing Bouazizi: ‘White Lies’, hybrid network, and
collective/connective action in the 2010-11 Tunisian Uprising in Journalism 14
(7), pp 921-941
Session 2 Tuesday January 6th. Models of Advocacy… Models of Video
Advocacy
On the second day we will reflect on different approaches to using video in
advocacy and recognize and identify the strengths and limitations of using visual
media as a tool for human rights advocacy. We will look at the role of human
rights activists as curators, documentors, co-creators, creators and distributors of
visual imagery created by them, with others or ‘found’ in the world.
As one of a range of approaches we will begin by focusing on produced, targeted
video as advocacy media, particularly within the context of formal nongovernmental organizations. Participants will watch, discuss and reflect on case
studies as a step towards understanding practical methodologies for how video
and related multimedia are used in work in a range of advocacy settings
including community organizing, decision-maker advocacy, online video, human
rights monitoring institutions and legislative settings.
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, small group exercises, and
debrief.
Required Readings/Viewings
- Gillian Caldwell. Using Video for Advocacy in ‘Video for Change: A Guide to
Advocacy and Activism’ in Sam Gregory, Gillian Caldwell, Ronit Avni, and
Thomas Harding (eds.) Pluto Press 2005 pp. 1-19
- Stanley Cohen. States of Denial, Chapter 1: The Elementary Forms of Denial.
pp. 1-20 (London: Polity Press, 2001)
- Bridget Conley- Zilkic. Speaking plainly about Chechnya: on the limits of the
juridical model of human-rights advocacy, in ‘Nongovernmental Politics’, Zone
Books, 2007. Michel Feher with Gaelle Krikorian and Yates McKee, editors
- Livia Hinegardner. Action, Organization and Documentary Film: Beyond a
Communications Model of Human Rights Videos, in Visual Anthropology
Review, Vol. 25, Issue 2, pp.172-185, 2009
Session 3: Wednesday, January 7th, 1:30-5:30, Targeted Video Advocacy
and Storytelling for Action
This Session will continue the discussion of targeted video advocacy begun in
Session 2. Case study films will be used to review a diverse set of approaches to
using human rights video footage in campaigning worldwide, both offline and
online. We will also explore key ideas on strategic timing and distribution of
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
video, giving participants a opportunity to identify a range of advocacy distribution
options including peer-to-peer, evidentiary video, community organizing, within
activist networks, direct-to-decision-maker, and online.
At the heart of effective advocacy is effective storytelling – the process of
converting ethical documentation and advocacy into effective persuasion.
Participants will continue to advance their understanding of the deployment of
visual persuasion for advocacy in this section on ‘Storytelling for Action’.
Alongside discussion of a number of case studies participants will review their
own experiences (within the course, and externally) around effective storytelling,
and learn about key concepts of storytelling for action – including utilizing genre,
character, hooks, and creating a ‘space for action’. We will also review a number
of non-traditional and non-linear approaches to storytelling.
As part of the session we’ll also take a look at the ‘Kony 2012’ video and the
accompanying debate on the practice and problematics of human rights
storytelling as well as the models of community and youth organizing focused
around video that are utilized by Invisible Children.
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, and debrief.
Guest Speaker TBC: Fabiana Paranhos ANIS, Brazil
Guest Speaker TBC: Lisa Dougan, Invisible Children and Kony 2012
Required Readings/Viewings
- Katerina Cizek. Storytelling for Advocacy: Conceptualization and PreProduction in ‘Video for Change: A Guide to Advocacy and Activism’ in Sam
Gregory, Gillian Caldwell, Ronit Avni, and Thomas Harding (eds.) Pluto Press
pp. 74-108
- Sam Gregory. Kony2012: Juggling Advocacy, Audience and Agency When
Using #Video4Change. WITNESS blog, 17 March 2012. Available at:
http://blog.witness.org/2012/03/kony-2012-juggling-advocacy-audience-andagency-when-using-video4change/
- Henry Jenkins. Contextualizing #Kony2012: Invisible Children, Spreadable
Media, and Transmedia Activism. March 12, 2012. Confessions of an AcaFan. http://henryjenkins.org/2012/03/contextualizing_kony2012_invis.html
- Prabhas Pokharel. Talking Change (And Not Just Campaigns) in Digital
Natives with a Cause? Thinkathon: Position Papers (HIVOS, 2010), pp75-91
available at: http://www.hivos.net/Hivos-KnowledgeProgramme/Themes/Digital-Natives-with-a-Cause/Publications/DigitalNatives-with-a-Cause-Thinkathon-Position-Papers
- Lars Waldorf. White Noise: Hearing the Disaster. Journal of Human Rights
Practice 4(3), 2012
Optional Readings
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
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Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, Joshua McVeigh-Schultz, Christine Weitbrecht and
Chris Tokuhama. Experiencing fan activism: Understanding the power of fan
activist organizations through members’ narratives. In Journal of
Transformative Works and Cultures Vol.10 (2012) at
http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/322/273
Session 4 Thursday January 8th, 1:30-5:30. NGO Media and Mass Media
Models for Human Rights Advocacy
Traditional models of human rights advocacy have often relied on securing mass
and mass media coverage of abuses as a tool for exerting pressure on policymakers. This section will explore this practice, and consider innovations that are
occurring in terms of distribution of video and related multimedia to mass and
alternative media outlets. We will look at the emerging multimedia work of
Human Rights Watch and other major human rights groups.
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, and debrief.
Guest Speaker TBC: Human Rights Watch, Communications Director
Guest Speaker TBC: Katerina Cizek, Highrise project, National Film Board of
Canada
Required Readings/Viewings
- Justin Ellis. How Human Rights Watch got into the quasi-journalism business.
September 12, 2012. Nieman Journalism Lab. Available at
http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/09/how-human-rights-watch-got-into-thequasi-journalism-business/
- Ethan Zuckerman. International reporting in the age of participatory media.
Daedalus, Boston: Spring 2010, Vol. 139 Iss 2; pp.66-75
- Selected films/multimedia from Human Rights Watch to be noted by instructor
Optional Readings
- Kimberley Abbott. Working together, NGOs and journalists can create
stronger international reporting, Nieman Journalism Lab Special Report,
‘NGOs and the News’, November 9, 2009:
http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/11/kimberly-abbott-working-together-ngosand-journalists-can-create-stronger-international-reporting/
- Ethan Zuckerman. Advocacy, agenda and attention: Unpacking unstated
motives in NGO journalism, Nieman Journalism Lab Special Report ‘NGOs
and the News’, January 19, 2010: http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/01/ethanzuckerman-advocacy-agenda-and-attention-unpacking-unstated-motives-inngo-journalism/
Optional Viewings
- Carroll Bogert. Look Who's Talking: Non-Profit Newsmakers in the New
Media Age. Talk as part of Media Lab Conversations Series, 10 September
2012. Available at: http://www.media.mit.edu/events/2012/09/10/media-lab-
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Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
conversations-series-carroll-bogert-look-whos-talking-non-profit-newsmakersnew-media-age
Assignment 1 is due, January 10th, 2pm, to be posted on the Class
Discussion page.
Session 5 Monday, January 12th 1:30-5:30. Web 2.0, Online Advocacy and
Network-Centric Video Advocacy including Learning from the Arab Spring
Use of online video, including particularly mobile video, has publicized and
documented many emerging human rights struggles from Rangoon, to Oakland,
to Tehran, and most recently the ‘Arab Spring’ and Occupy movements, and
characterizes many vibrant citizen media spaces that fill niches long ignored or
abandoned by the mainstream media. Video is also a key element of emerging
models of advocacy that emphasize citizen participation, crowd-sourcing of
activism and a decentralized, networked approach to organization.
In this session we will discuss examples of online and participatory video
advocacy within frameworks of traditional and new models of advocacy, looking
at:
-
Video-sharing sites including YouTube, and niche online human rights spaces
Viral/spreadable video in the NGO human rights sector
Social media and video, including case studies of Iran, Egypt and Syria
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, and debrief.
Guest Speaker TBC: Steve Grove, former Head, YouTube News & Politics,
current Director of Community Partnerships, Google+
Guest Speaker TBC: Molly Beutz Land, University of Connecticut
Required Readings/Viewings
- Sean Aday, Henry Farrell, Marc Lynch, Deen Freelon. Blogs and Bullets III:
Syria’s Socially-Mediated Civil War, Peaceworks No. 91, Washington, DC:
United States Institute of Peace, 2014, pdf at
http://www.usip.org/publications/syria-s-socially-mediated-civil-war
- Molly Beutz Land, Peer Producing Human Rights, New York Law School
Legal Studies, Research Paper Series 09/10 # 12,
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1475414
- Steve Grove. YouTube’s Ecosystem for News in Nieman Reports, Summer
2010: http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102417/YouTubesEcosystem-for-News.aspx
- Merlyna Lim. Clicks, Cabs and Coffee Houses: Social Media and Oppositional
Movement in Egypt, 2004-2011. Journal of Communication 62 (2012), 231248
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
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Jonah Peretti. Notes on Contagious Media, in ‘Structures of Participation in
Digital Culture’, ed. Joe Karaganis (New York: Social Science Research
Council, 2007), pp. 158-163
Optional Readings
- Gilad Lotan, Erhardt Graeff, Mike Ananny, Devin Gaffney, Ian Pearce and
danah boyd. The Arab Spring | The Revolutions Were Tweeted: Information
Flows during the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions. Visualization and
article link at: http://www.danah.org/projects/IJOC-ArabSpring/; article in
International Journal of Communication Vol. 5 (2011):
http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1246 (focus on exploring the
visualization and the introduction and conclusions)
- Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. Report:
YouTube & News. June 16, 2012. Available at:
http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/youtube_news
- Kjerstin Thorson, Brian Ekdale, Porismita Borah, Kang Namkoong and Chirag
Shah. YouTube and Proposition 8 in Information, Communication and Society
13:3, 2010, pp 325-349 (focus on findings not the methodology)
- Kjerstin Thorson, Kevin Driscoll, Brian Ekdale, Stephanie Edgerley, Liana
Gamber Thompson, Andrew Schrock, Lana Swartz, Emily K. Vraga, Chris
Wells. YOUTUBE, TWITTER AND THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT: Connecting
content and circulation practices in Information, Communication and Society
16:3, 2013, pp 421-451 (focus on findings not the methodology)
- Huma Yusuf. The Convergence of Old and New Media During the Pakistan
Emergency in Sensible Politics: The Visual Culture of Nongovernmental
Activism (Zone Books, 2012), edited by Meg McLagan and Yates McKee
Optional Viewings
- MIT Civic Media Session: Civil Disobedience with Ethan Zuckerman, Clay
Shirky, Zeynep Tufekci, and Sami Ben Gharbia (May 2011):
http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/12932-civic-media-session-civic-disobedience
- Additional viewing options will be listed on the course page and circulated via
the Twitter feed
Session 6 Tuesday January 13th. ‘Cameras Everywhere’, 1:30-5:30 –
Emerging Ethical and Practical Challenges with Ubiquitous Visual Media;
Verification, Aggregation and Curation
In today’s session we will continue our discussion of the ecosystems of
ubiquitous media and online/offline activism and then put a particular focus on a
review key areas of challenges that are emerging for human rights at its
intersection point with social media, new technologies and ubiquitous video.
These challenge points include issues of privacy and safety, the role of
technology providers as human rights facilitators, and questions of
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
authentication, information overload and further ethical dilemmas raised by the
broadening possibilities of media creation and sharing.
As one practical response to many of the challenge points we will look at the
roles of curation, aggregation and verification in the visual media ecosystem.
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, and debrief.
Guest Speaker TBC: Madeleine Bair, Curator, The Human Rights Channel on
YouTube
Required Readings/Viewings
- Madeleine Bair, Video Exposes Police Abuse in Venezuela (Or is it Mexico?
Or Colombia?) on WITNESS blog, February 25, 2014, at
http://blog.witness.org/2014/02/video-exposes-police-abuse-venezuelamexico-colombia/
- Sam Gregory, Cameras Everywhere: Ubiquitous Video Documentation of
Human Rights, New Forms of Video Advocacy and Concerns about Safety,
Security, Dignity and Consent, Journal of Human Rights Practice (2010) 2 (2),
191-207
- Sameer Padania, Sam Gregory, Yvette Alberdingk-Thijm, Bryan Nunez,
Cameras Everywhere: Current Challenges and Opportunities at the
Intersection of Human Rights, Video and Technology, WITNESS (2011),
http://www.witness.org/cameras-everywhere/report-2011
- William Lafi Youmans and Jillian C. York. Social Media and the Activist
Toolkit: User Agreements, Corporate Interests, and the Information
Infrastructure of Modern Social Movements in Journal of Communication 62
(2), 315-329 April 2012
Optional Readings
- IF interested in safety/security issues around filming: Katerina Cizek, Safety
and Security in ‘Video for Change: A Guide to Advocacy and Activism’ in Sam
Gregory, Gillian Caldwell, Ronit Avni, and Thomas Harding (eds.) Pluto Press
pp. 120-73
- Nieman Reports. Truth in the Age of Social Media. Summer 2012,
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/issue/100072/Summer-2012.aspx (dip
in to articles that pique your interest)
- William Quinn, The Other End of the Abu Ghraib Camera, in New York Times,
July 25, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/opinion/25quinn.html
- Matt Schussler, Echo Chambers in Myanmar: Social media and the
ideological justifications for mass violence, Paper for the Australian National
University Department of Political & Social Change Research Colloquium on
“Communal Conflict in Myanmar: Characteristics, Causes, Consequences”,
17-18 March, 2014 available at
https://www.academia.edu/6518573/Echo_chambers_in_Myanmar_Social_m
edia_and_the_ideological_justifications_for_mass_violence
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Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
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Susan Sontag, Regarding the Torture of Others, in New York Times May 23,
2004, at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/magazine/23PRISONS.html
Storyful, Social Newsgathering, 2013, at http://blog.storyful.com/ebook/
European Journalism Centre, Verification Handbook, 2014, at
http://verificationhandbook.com/ (dip into if the topic is of interest)
Optional Viewings
- New York Times, Watching Syria’s War, at
http://projects.nytimes.com/watching-syrias-war
Session 7 Wednesday, January 14th, 1:30-5:30. Focus on Live-streaming
and Immersive Experience; Wrap discussion on Video and Participatory
Media Advocacy.
In this session we will first consider how live video and technology-mediated
immersive experience are changing approaches to human rights advocacy.
In the second half of the session we’ll spend time reviewing ideas for the final
project as well as conduct a wrap discussion on digital activism and video
advocacy, considering lessons learned, and how we can consolidate course
learnings into our future practice.
Presentation, case study analyses, discussion, and debrief.
Guest Speaker TBC: Esra’a Al-Shafei, MidEast Youth
Required Readings/Viewings
- Nonny De La Pena, Physical World News in Virtual Spaces: Representation
and Embodiment in Immersive Nonfiction, MediaFields Journal, 2011, Issue 6
– Data and Space, available at http://www.mediafieldsjournal.org/physicalworld-news-in-virtual
- Sam Gregory, Co-Presence: A New Way to Bring People Together for Human
Rights Activism, WITNESS Blog, September 23, 2013, available at
http://blog.witness.org/2013/09/co-presence-for-human-rights/
Optional Readings
- Institute for the Future, The Future of Real-Time Video Communication
(2009), available at http://www.iftf.org/our-work/peopletechnology/technology-horizons/the-future-of-real-time-video-communication/
Assignment 2 is due, January 24th, 6pm via email to Sam.
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.
Human Rights Advocacy Using Video, Social Media and Participatory Media – Instructor: Sam Gregory
OPTIONAL SESSION TBC: Hands-on skills half-day focused on developing a
basic level of skill in shooting interviews/testimonies and documenting visual
evidence
Syllabus – DRAFT August 2014 version. Please check against FINAL.