Fifty years ago, University of Michigan students organized the nation’s most significant campus-based environmental movement. In March 1970, a four-day teach-in brought 13,000 attendees to Crisler. Later that year, teach-in organizers established the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor. This mini-course, a community partnership between the history department and the Ecology Center, invites students interested in studying campus activism, environmental justice, and community-based social change to join a collaborative project documenting the build-up to the first Earth Day in April 1970.

This course provides hands-on experience in historical documentary filmmaking from research and writing to production and editing. Working in teams, participants will create a short film about the teach-in as part of fiftieth anniversary celebrations scheduled for late-March. Class sessions will include readings and discussions about the environmental movement, visits to archives to develop hands-on experience with historical materials, and workshops focused on creating and editing video interviews.

Course Requirements:

In addition to regular attendance, requirements include the documentary project and short written assignments.

Intended Audience:

As part of the Environmental Justice History Lab, this course is open to students who want to practice historical storytelling in ways that are collaborative, visual, and designed to make an impact.