Final Video Contest Project in SPA 102
By: Adriana Merino (course coordinator), Jeannie Byrne, Andie Faber, Luis Goncalves, Manuel Malia, Daniela Salcedo, Le Anne Spino-Seijas
The SPA 102 students engaged in a semester-long project called Global citizenship and social commitment: Be the change you want to see happen! The aim of the project was to explore relevant real-world issues within the course syllabus (namely work, heath, culture, the environment, civic engagement, service, and volunteerism). In so doing, they combined their academic interests in a particular area with Spanish, the language they are studying. The outcome was an online publication that required using multiliteracies through digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements).
As part of the project, each group of students created a video related to their social cause. This video was entered into a competition to see which group created the best video in all of SPA 102. Students were first judged by their peers to choose semifinalists, and then the instructors selected the winning group.
The first prize went to Dane Jacobson, Minh Hoang and Scott Overbey who investigated the speeches of Latin American politicians, and analyzed elements of persuasiveness and manipulation in their rhetorical strategies. They wanted to create awareness about such manipulative techniques, which tend to distort reality. They produced a very elaborate video that portrays a fictitious politician who is running for president. They use satire to bring attention to relevant issues, blending criticism with humor. While the group preferred not to link their video to this website, they did wish to share a picture accepting their prize: a box of Alfajores.
Second place went to Anna Wolcke, Hristo Papazov, Marissa Webb and Rachel Kennedy for their project: Graffiti for social change.
This is how the group describes their project:
Our project focused on graffiti as a means of promoting social change. Our motto “Si se puede” was inspired by a graffiti one of our group members saw that said, “You can do it.” This motto represents the collective and accessible spirit of graffiti and its ability to create ripples of change throughout a community. We each followed artists that incorporated feminism, critiques of governments, or advocacy for low-income lifestyles into their artwork. These themes could then be traced to Princeton’s own mural placed in the Butler basement. The vibrant artwork reflects the University’s increased diversity and presence of women, and we were excited to feature it in our project. We hope our project serves as an inspiration for those seeking to make a difference, and demonstrates how creativity and artistry can become tools of civic engagement.
Their digital publication and video can be found here.
For the winners, our heartfelt congratulations for their dedication, effort, and great job!
¡Felicitaciones!
– “Los profes” de SPA 102
You must be logged in to post a comment.