ENGL 006B. Why Journalism (Still) Matters

This is a hybrid course intended both for students considering going into the field of journalism, as well as those interested in understanding more about the profession and its role in a democracy. It is a course that will combine the teaching of journalistic skills and principles - interviewing techniques, story structure, working with documents, multi-platform story-telling, emerging technologies (video, audio, geotagging, Data Viz, etc.) - as well as ethics, considerations of balance and objectivity, the changing media landscape, and the impact of disinformation. It will be a kind of journalistic sampler that will explore hard news stories, features, profiles, editorials, investigative stories, international reporting, environmental journalism and long-form stories. Students will be encouraged to pursue their own disciplinary interests (science, medicine, diversity, justice, politics, etc.) through the prism of journalism. The objective of the class is to immerse students in the complex and diverse world of the working journalist, as well as to produce more savvy and critical consumers of the news. Class size is limited to fifteen and will be conducted as a seminar. Outside journalists and media scholars will be invited to speak to the class. There is also the possibility of a field trip or two. Class will meet twice weekly
Humanities
Fall 2024. Gup.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature

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