Celestial Histories and Storytelling through Film: Alternative documentary approaches for the Humanities

This masterclass is aimed at scholars in the humanities and social sciences of all stages in search of alternative (non-text based) methodologies and narrative forms.

Independent documentary maker Christiane Burkhard will present methodologies such as constellation and excavation metaphors, journaling, periphery perspectives, object history, collage-making, and word-play. Sabrina Almandoz (director, screenwriter, editor and producer) will discuss the stages of working with academics in the processes of montage and editing.

Finally, five historians of science from Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil will share their own perspectives on how this low-cost yet highly committed approach to film making livens academic life.

Participants: Sabrina Almandoz, Christiane Burkhard, Miruna Achim, Thomas Haddad, Andrés Vélez, Marina Rieznik, Nydia Pineda

This masterclass is one part of a week-long series of events for the project "American Skies: Celestial Images as Technologies of Cultural Transfer" created by Nydia Pineda de Ávila, UC San Diego Department of History.

The full American Skies series is supported in part by the Department of History, the Latin American Studies Program, the Science Studies Program, the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts and the School of Arts and Humanities, all located at UC San Diego.