Diversity and Media Access Summer Program
Learn media making for social change and self-expression in state-of-the-art production facilities, with amazing teachers and diverse students.
No previous production experience is required. Students with any major are encouraged to join us and learn, as our students come from outside Brooklyn College and across CUNY.
The Brooklyn College departments of Film and Television and Radio are offering an intensive nine-credit undergraduate program, Diversity and Media Access Summer (DAMAS), during the first summer session (June 4–July 11). DAMAS is taught at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, located at the Steiner Studios film production complex in Brooklyn. DAMAS brings 15 to 20 students together to work closely and collaboratively with professors in small groups to learn theories and practices of media activism, including writing, shooting/recording, and editing complete visual, sound, and/or Web-based media projects around themes of diversity, inclusion, and access.
Each student in the program will complete three courses that will transfer for credit in the Film or Television and Radio departments. Taught by three full-time faculty members (Kara Andersen [Film], Charles Haine [Feirstein School of Cinema], and MJ Robinson [Television and Radio]), the three courses are a:
- film and media studies course (Television and Radio Criticism or Theory, Aesthetics, and Criticism),
- hybrid theory and production course (Media Literacy or Cultural Perspectives in Film), and
- production course (Multimedia Design and Production or Special Topics in Film).
In addition to their classroom and fieldwork, Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., students will have access to visiting representatives from various nonprofit and media organizations in New York City. Students will also participate in field trips to other media and community organizations.
The centerpiece of the program culminates in small-group collaborative diversity projects that will be showcased on the last day of the program (July 11). Brooklyn College will highlight and distribute the projects as a showpiece for the important work that young people, people of color, and other marginalized voices can contribute to the American media landscape, such as those works produced in 2017.
To be eligible for DAMAS, students must have completed at least 15 credits or one year of college-level course work in any discipline. No previous production experience is necessary. All applicants must submit a college transcript. The application deadline is rolling, so apply now.
Students from outside New York City may take advantage of summer student housing options available to them during the program. Contact the Office of Financial Aid with questions about financial aid options.
The program is administered jointly by Alex Juhasz (chair, Department of Film) and Katherine Fry (chair, Department of Television and Radio).
For more information, contact Professor Juhasz or Professor Fry.
