COMMUNICATION, NEW MEDIA + JOURNALISM NEWSLETTER / SPRING 17 / ISSUE III

Dear friends,

Greetings from an already rather warm Seville.    

Our Spring 2017 semester came to an end last Thursday, May 11^th, after 17 weeks of intense work and shared adventures. Our students have shown great commitment in pursuing their personal and academic endeavors They have experienced life in Seville at many different levels. The meaningful media projects they've created during their semester abroad are the prove of their respect and interest for their host community. As always, I would like to share with you a few of these projects:

Sarah Davis from CIEE SEVILLE on Vimeo.

In a video titled “En Movimiento”, Sarah Davis (Villanova University) tell us the story of Argentinian flamenco dancer Federico Núñez, who struggles to make a name for himself in Seville’s dance scene. This is Sarah’s final project for the course Digital Video Reporting in Context –with professor Carlos Pineda–. As the rest of the students participating in this course, she has contributed to the expanding video portrait gallery of characters who live in the neighborhood of San Julian, which is the same where the students of the Communication, New Media and Journalism program live.

The 28^th edition of the bilingual magazine más+menos is titled “The Inhabited City / La Ciudad Habitada” and has been created by the students of the course Magazine Reporting and Writing –with professor Óscar Ceballos– in collaboration this semester with students from the University of Seville, the Pontific Bolivarian University of Medellin, Colombia, and the University La Salle Bajío, Mexico. The twelve stories contained in this magazine are explorations into the “real” Seville, beyond stereotypes and touristified representations of the city. Take as an example the article “Muslims of Seville: A Community in Search of Its Place”, by Sophia Carson (St. Thomas University, MN), which reveals the endeavours of local Muslims to educate their children in their faith while fostering a positive image of Islam. The challenges they have met while trying to build a new mosque in Seville are the central point of the story.

Is it possible to find Bob Dylan in Seville? That was the task that Alberto Revidiego (University of Seville) set for himself in the year that the bard from Duluth won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read the story “Seeking Dylan in Seville” to know if he succeeded, and read many more stories at masmenos.es or download its pdf version.

Students of the course Urban Photography Workshop: The City from Within –with professor Antonio Pérez– have been, as usual, very creative. Check the elaborate and very collaborative process of the project they created for “International Earth Day” and enjoy the brilliant result here. In their last day of class, they visited the World Press Photo exhibition.

Students of the course Social Justice, Action and Media: Stories that Matter –with professor Marina Blesa– have explored ways in which media professionals can actively work to bring social change. They have created communication campaigns for different local NGOs and have visited several organizations including the independent radio station Radiopolis. They also visited the High School Ramón Carande for a morning of intense discussion with some of the school’s students and professors about the representation of underprivileged communities in mainstream media and the internet.

Accompanied by professor Rubén Díaz, students of the course Digital and Visual Culture in Contemporary Spain visited the outstanding exhibition “Coleccionar-Clasificar”, including works of many national and international artists at the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo.

One of the most memorable experiences of the semester was our three-day trip in March to the beautiful town of Chefchaouen, in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, where we were hosted by the families of local students. Thanks to them, we learnt so much about Moroccan society and daily life, as well as about the great appreciation that Moroccan youth has of all things American. We have also had some outstanding guest lecturers this semester, including the international reporter Eduardo del Campo, who visited the course Magazine Reporting and Writing and shared with its students some of his most significant personal and professional experiences of the past twenty years.

You can find much more information about our semester –including many images of it– at our Facebook page CNMJ CIEE SEVILLE.

We’ll be back with more news in September, at the start of the Fall 2017 semester. In the meantime, have a great summer.

Óscar Ceballos

RD Communication, New Media and Journalism program