PULLMAN, Wash. Washington State University students are enjoying a unique opportunity to collaborate on a video project with visiting German author Tobias Hülswitt.
The Department of Foreign Languages & Cultures is hosting Hülswitt through Oct. 6.
Students will gain real-world experience in conducting, filming and editing interviews to produce an interactive show that explores transportation, said Rachel Halverson, associate professor of German who is writing “Explorations in Authorhood: Tobias Hülswitt’s Path from the Deutsches Literaturinstitut to Performance Intellectual.” Students also will “gain hands-on experience in creating a forum for public dialogue,” she said.
His interactive video projects let the audience participate in discussion regarding today’s issues, she said: “WSU students have the opportunity to experience this process firsthand and learn how to engage people through face-to-face interaction and through media.”
In addition to earning credit, students will get to discuss issues with community members and experts from a wide variety of disciplines across campus on topics pertinent to today’s transportation systems in America.
“Students are focusing on the United States and its love affair with cars,” said Halverson. “How do they influence the way we live, the way our cities are planned and the way we consume non-renewable resources?”
By scrutinizing the issue from multiple angles, she said, “students will gain a deeper understanding of the implications our dependence on the car has for the future of the planet.”
A free, public, interactive presentation of the video project will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, in Kimbrough Music Building 101. Those attending are encouraged to bring their cell phones in order to participate.
Hülswitt, a 2001 graduate of Deutsches Literaturinstitut der Universität Leipzig, has published four novels as well as various essays and short stories.