The Human Rights Film & Digital Media Initiative is a collaboration between the Department of Digital Media & Design, Dodd Impact Programs, and the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. By supporting innovative projects, providing hands-on learning experiences, and hosting dynamic, engaging events, the initiative seeks to foster the creation of and engagement with the next generation of human rights and social justice advocates and analysts through digital media.
The Human Rights Film+ Series
The Human Rights Film+ Series presents new and classic works of documentary, feature, and journalistic film, as well as video games and other digital media, that address key human rights issues and themes. A cornerstone of the Human Rights Film & Digital Media Initiative, it is presented by the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute, Dodd Impact Programs, and the School of Fine Art’s Department of Digital Media & Design.
The Human Rights Film+ Series was initiated in 2005 and has foregrounded critical human rights issues spanning local to global levels through the medium of film. The Series has featured experienced and emerging filmmakers in conversations about their films, engaging students, faculty, staff and community members through post-show discussions. The Series organizers have partnered with varied units on campus to address themes such as civil rights as human rights, economic and social rights, and art and activism. In 2020, we expanded the Series to “Film+” to include other forms of digital media, including games and animation.
The film tells the story of attorney Stephen Bingham, a Connecticut native who became a fugitive after being accused of helping spark a 1971 prison uprising
Seeing the landmark trials through the eyes of U.S. prosecutor Thomas Dodd
Current Projects
Armenian Memory Project
Under the guidance of filmmaker Catherine Masud, students enrolled in DMD 2200 Motion Graphics 1 (spring 2019) created an animated motion graphics video based on archival photographs from Dr. Armen T. Marsoobian's Dildilian Photography Collection depicting early 20th Century Armenian life in Turkey, prior to the genocide that erased the Armenian community. Students from DMD 3998/5998 Visual Representation of Armenian Memory (fall 2019) created a second video called The Dildilians: A Story of Photography and Survival. Watch a panel discussion with Catherine Masud, Dr. Armen T. Marsoobian, and some of the student producers on YouTube. Learn more about the project via the Norian Armenian Project.
Courtroom 600: Virtual Reality Encounter with Evidence of the Holocaust
This 3D interactive virtual reality (VR) experience explores histories of the Holocaust through archival materials. Read more about the project through Greenhouse Studios and on UConn Today.
As part of the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Office of the Provost’s funded project “The 21st-Century Poll - Making UConn the Leader in Gathering, Analyzing, and Disseminating Social Media Data and Sentiment Around the 2020 Election Cycle and Other Topics,” we conducted research on the culture wars, fake news, and Black Lives Matter. We also streamed an election night broadcast on YouTube with analysis of social media activity and predictions.
Social Media, Hate Speech, and Human Rights Defenders
Social media provides a platform for human rights defenders to share information and express opinions. At the same time, it is increasingly being used to target and harass human rights defenders, including journalists, environmental activists and lawyers. Read more about the project of Molly Land and Richard A. Wilson through the American Bar Association, SSRN, and Just Security.
Curriculum
Our initiative develops student learning opportunities across a range of courses designed to foster knowledge, skills, and creativity through cross-listed courses and in-class collaborations in the human rights and social justice space.
"Working with Professor Masud and the rest of the class was one of the most fulfilling projects I've worked on to date. The breadth and variety of work that myself and the team completed, supplemented by hands-on learning opportunities, came together into an incredibly robust understanding of the issue, as well as a quality piece of media that will have an impact that lasts beyond my time as an undergraduate. This course has almost directly led to my interest in archival sciences, and further solidified my desire to continue working in the human rights sphere."
- Aiden Bruecker, DMD 3998 Visual Representations of Armenian Memory, Spring 2019
Course Highlights
Digital Storytelling through Human Rights Archives
DMD 3998-008
HRTS 3540-002
Instructor: Catherine Masud
Students in this course will style utilize the Nuremberg Collection of the Thomas Dodd Papers held in the University of Connecticut Library Archive to create a collaborative documentary.
Motion Graphics I
DMD 2200
Instructor: Anna Lindemann
Students in this course will bring to life archival photographs of student protests in the 1960s and 1970s held by Archives & Special Collections.
Power Privilege and Public Education
EDCI 2100
Instructors: Mark Kohan and Patricia O'Rourke
Students in this course will create collaborative short videos with community education partners using the WITNESS - Video for Change model of human rights advocacy.
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