2025 - Spring

Non-Narrated and Archival-based Audio Documentary

Course Number: JOUR-GA 1320.001

Day & Time: Mon | 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: 20 Cooper Square, Library (700)

This is an advanced production course that combines the rigor of journalism with the poetry of sound montage. In it, students will learn how to produce powerful documentaries using non-narrated and archival storytelling techniques.

Students will learn to observe, document, and create stories that immerse listeners in people’s lives and histories. We will listen to and analyze non-narrated stories in a variety of forms: Audio Diaries, Historical Documentaries, Experimental Audio Montage, and Personal Stories. Students will produce stories using interviews, scene tape, archival material, and music. There is an emphasis on history, but students will create work in a variety of styles: audio postcard, sound poem, collective storytelling, profile, and a final documentary in the style of their choosing. Through an intensive editing process, these documentaries should be well-crafted and professional enough for publication.

Please note: Equipment Insurance is required if you need to borrow equipment. Purchase equipment insurance for a full year through College Student Insurance (CSI) https://collegestudentinsurance.com/. CSI covers the gear checked out from the Journalism Equipment Room plus personal items such as laptops and cell phones. Our suggested CSI plan costs $155 with a $500 deductible.