Medill Explores (417-0-23)

Topic

Puerto Rico: Colonialism, Climate Change, Resistan

Instructors

Karin Lydersen

Meeting Info

303 E. Wacker Dr. 1620: Mon 9:00AM - 11:50AM

Overview of class

This course will prepare students to report in a new location - Puerto Rico - on complicated, sensitive and newsworthy topics including disaster recovery, climate change impacts, politics, inequity, food security and public health. Students will explore history, politics, journalism and other context relating to Puerto Rico and Chicago's Puerto Rican diaspora, and learn how to identify and produce timely news or feature stories that build on and recognize this context. Students will find and build relationships with sources from afar and on the ground in Puerto Rico, and experience reporting with vulnerable people and on traumatic situations including the aftermath of natural disasters, and contentious politics including the debate over Puerto Rico's political status. Students will work together as a team and also have the opportunity to learn how to arrange their own interviews and logistics during travel reporting. Students will produce one publication-worthy story, package or project as part of the course, as well as coursework including journal entries and a presentation. This will be a hybrid course meeting in-person in Chicago, while students based in Washington D.C. will join classes by Zoom.

Class Materials (Required)

None

Class Notes

Class will also be held on Tuesday, January 16th

Class Attributes

Attendance at 1st class mandatory