Announcing Storytelling and Digital-Age Civics Webinar Series

Bryan Alexander 2014-01-06

I wanted to call to your attention a really exciting webinar series which my Media, Activism, and Participatory Politics research group is helping to organize in collaboration with the MacArthur Connected Learning Initiative, the Youth and Participatory Politics Network, Youth Radio, the Black Youth Project, and the Media Arts and Practices Division of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Over four webinars, you will be able to hear from line perspectives from a range of youth who are seeking to change the world.

This webinar series explores storytelling as a practice that bridges cultural and civic/political engagement. We define storytelling as a shared activity in which individuals and communities contribute to the telling, retelling, and remixing of narratives through various media channels. To create these stories, youth make use of various media including theater, photography, blogs, books and videos. Organized around the lifecycle of a story, this webinar series will explore the affordances and challenges of digital media for civic action by bringing together civically active youth to discuss how political narratives are created, produced, spread and recontextualized through “digital afterlife.” To encourage a fruitful discussion, we have invited people and groups who represent a broad range of perspectives and practices.

Jan. 14 10 a.m. PST

Finding Your Story

How do you identify and frame stories that engage with your community?

MODERATOR - Derek Williams is a 21-year-old Project Associate at the Peabody Award-winning production company, Youth Radio, in Oakland California. At Youth Radio, he co-launched a national Youth Advisory Board focused on innovations to address the country’s youth unemployment crisis. Derek has taught journalism at Youth Radio and produced stories for NPR, KQED, and The Huffington Post.

FACILITATOR - Sangita Shresthova is the Research Director of Henry Jenkins’ Media Activism & Participatory Politics (MAPP) project, based at the University of Southern California. Her work focuses on the intersection between popular culture, performance, new media, politics, and globalization.

Erick Huerta is an undocumented immigrant that was granted Deferred Action. He’s currently a journalism student, an advocate for immigrant’s rights, cyclist rights and social media and communications consultant.

Matt Howard served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2001 to 2006 and deployed to Iraq twice where he began to deeply question the wars. He now works on elevating the stories of veterans organizing for their own rights and for the rights of people impacted by U.S. militarism as the Communications Director of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Jason Russell is a co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Invisible Children. He graduated from University of Southern California’s Film School with a degree in Cinema Production, and has gone on to direct over a dozen documentaries.

Carol Zou co-organizes the public fiber arts collective, Yarn Bombing Los Angeles. Best known for their work to cover the Craft and Folk Art Museum in 8,000 crocheted granny squares, Yarn Bombing Los Angeles examines participation in public space through the use of fiber arts.

Monica Mendoza is a 20-year-old poet and proud daughter of immigrant parents. An Oakland native, Monica is currently a second-year college student pursuing her undergraduate degree in women’s studies and was most recently featured in the Off/Page Project‘s film “Whispers from the Field” and The Bigger Picture project’s film “A Taste of Home.”

Jan. 16 10 a.m. PST

Making Your Story

How do you decide the best way to give shape to your story?

FACILITATOR - Gabriel Peters-Lazaro is the Media Design Lead and Instructor at the Media Arts + Practice Division of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. There, he researches, designs and produces digital media for innovative learning with special interests in early childhood education and the role of video in networked cultures.

Lauren Bird is the Spokesperson and Digital Content Strategist forThe Harry Potter Alliance. She has spoken on the subjects of participatory media and fan communities on numerous panels including at TEDx Women, MIT’s Futures of Entertainment, and San Diego Comic-Con.

Dorian Electra is a musical artist and video director. Her work includes educational music videos about economics and “PARTY MILK” — a song, music video, and online media campaign about milk-drinking, cookie-eating dance parties. She studies history and philosophy of science at Shimer College in Chicago and is writing her thesis about the science of human consciousness.

Andy Warner is a San Francisco-based cartoonist and journalist whose comics have been published by Slate, American Public Media, Symbolia, KQED, popsci.com, Generation Progress and The Cartoon Picayune.

Charlene A. Carruthers is the National Coordinator for the Black Youth Project‘s “BYP 100″. She is a Chicago-based political organizer and writer with over 10 years of experience in racial justice, feminist and youth leadership development movement work.

Named one of the “25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World” by the Utne Reader, Tani Ikeda is an award-winning director who creates narratives, documentaries, music videos, and commercial films. She co-founded imMEDIAte Justice Productions, which now spans the globe with Summer Camps taught in Beijing, China and Kampala, Uganda.

Roxana Ayala is currently a senior at the Math Science & Technology Magnet Academy at Roosevelt High school. She is the the Vice President of Magnet and active member Upward Bound, Moviemento Estudantil Chicano/a de Aztlan, and I.AM. USC Mentorship.

Uriel Gonzalez is a senior at the Math Science & Technology Magnet Academy at Roosevelt High school. He is the President of the Magnet Academy and currently involved as President of the RHS Bible Club, an Upward Bound member, and a proud GIS advocate.

Jan. 21 10 a.m. PST

Spreading Your Story

How do you develop strategies to circulate your story to the desired audience?

FACILITATOR - Henry Jenkins is the Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts, and Education at the University of Southern California and the Principal Investigator for the Media Activism and Participatory Politics Project.

Thea Aldrich is the community manager for Random Hacks of Kindness, a 7,000+ member community dedicated to making the world a better place through the development and implementation of open source applications in the fields of disaster response, transparency, civil society organizations and government.

Nirvan Mullick is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who directed the Caine’s Arcade short film and founded the Imagination Foundation.

Rubi Fregoso is the Director of Education for KCET Departures’s “Youth Voices”. She has worked with KCETLink Public Media since 2007 in a number of capacities including, education, community outreach, and production.

Kat Primeau is a Los Angeles-based actor and improviser. She performs with her musical improv troupe Robot Teammate and The Accidental Party and is a core member of improv outreach non-profit Laughter For a Change.

Luvvie Ajayi is a writer and digital strategist who believes in using the power of technology for social change. She’s also co-founder and Executive Director of The Red Pump Project.

Joshua Merchant is a writer, activist and native of East Oakland. Combining a masterful eye for detail, Joshua is currently preparing his debut book to be published by Youth Speaks’ First Word Press in early 2014 and is the inaugural fellow of the Off/Page Project.

Jan. 28, 10 a.m. PST

Considering Your Story’s Afterlife

How do you sustain the conversation your story generates, and expect the unexpected?

FACILITATOR - Elisabeth (Lissa) Soep is Senior Producer and Research Director at Youth Radio, the Oakland-based, youth-driven production company that serves as NPR’s official youth desk. The Youth Radio stories Lissa has produced with teen reporters have been recognized with honors including two Peabody Awards, three Murrow Awards, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award.

Jonathan McIntosh is a pop culture hacker and transformative storyteller. He has been remixing mass media narratives for critical purposes since before the invention of YouTube. Everything he makes is freely available on the internet to view, share and remix.

Joan Donovan researches global anti-capitalist movements use of information and communication technologies. In 2011, she helped build the InterOccupy.net platform, which facilitates distributed direct actions by linking networks of activists. She is completing a dissertation at the University of California San Diego on the communication infrastructure of the Occupy movement.

Wajahat Ali is the co-host of Al Jazeera America’s “The Stream” – a daily, social-media driven talk show. He is the author of the play “The Domestic Crusaders” published by McSweeney’s and the lead author of the investigative report “Fear Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America” published by CAP.

Peter Fein is a computer programmer, media hacker and Internet activist. Since 2011, he’s helped keep the Internet running in the mideast and organized protests against censorship & surveillance around the world.

Jasmeen Patheja is the founding member of Blank Noise, a Indian nation-wide, volunteer-led community arts collective triggering public debate on the issue of street sexual harassment.

For more information and for links that will allow you to access the webinars, visit our website. We will be sharing the videos of these exchanges as well as other resources after the fact, if you can not join us live.