After class discussion, students showcase and discuss the campaigns they found. Students also notify the instructor if they will be working in a group for the final project.
- Examine how video is used in movements for social change.
- Discuss and evaluate the effectiveness of video as stimulus for positive social change and social action.
- Discuss ‘slacktivism’, is it a solution or scourge.
Core readings were used for the 2 credit pass/fail course and the 3 credit graded course used both Core and Additional resources.
- VIDEO: Kony Screening Provokes Anger in Uganda
- McCafferty, D. (2011). Activism vs. slacktivism. Communications Of The ACM, 54(12), 17-19. doi:10.1145/2043174.2043182
- Video for change : a guide for advocacy and activism, Gregory, et. al.
- Chapter 1: Using Video for Advocacy
- Kony 2012 Video, YouTube
- (n.d). Kony video raises awareness, oversimplifies complex situation. USA Today.
- The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom (Read Chapter 7 through Killing the Slacktivist in You)
- Why the revolution will not be tweeted, The New Yorker
- Lublin, N. (2010). Helping Humanity With a Click of the Mouse. Fast Company, (145), 52.
The first 15 to 20 minutes of class are dedicated to discussion of the weekly resources. If you assign a weekly reaction paper, you can also pull questions students ask in those papers.
- Gillian Caldwell mentions several strengths as to why video is worth using in advocacy work. What are these strengths and how do they differ from other means of getting a message out, i.e. writing, lectures, etc.
- Why might a video not be the right choice for a campaign or organization?
- Caldwell discusses five key steps to take when considering integrating video into an advocacy campaign. What are these 5 steps and briefly describe each one and why it is important.
- What is a slacktivist?
- Do you agree that ‘slacktivism’ is not “real activism”? What is “real activism” anyway?
- Despite the criticism slacktivism receives, do you believe any awareness towards an issue is good awareness?
- Does the quantity of people involved in an online activism campaign add or subtract to the quality of the cause/movement?\
- Which would you rather have – an underpaid college student standing on a street corner, clipboard in hand, trying to collect petition signatures from passersby, or a free online version that relies on potentially millions of unpaid friends who help me out with virtual clicking?
- What about a website where one can organize rallies by paying students $4 an hour to chant political slogans of any ideology, is one method better than the other, or does the ends justify the means?
- At the end of McCafferty’s article, he explains how new technology can be used to enhance traditional activism. What is his explanation and what are a few examples to back up the argument?
To expedite the report out, ask students to turn in their campaign write ups before class begins so the instructor can have them downloaded on the class computer.
Depending on the time remaining and number of students in the class, a hard time limit should be set for each student report out.