2007 Webby Awards, December 2007 – March 2008
Reviewed Websites, online short films, and ads for the premier international New Media design competition
2007 No Borders, New York, May 2007 – July 2007
Evaluated screenplays for the Independent Feature Project and make recommendations for production
2006 Webby Awards, January 2007 – March 2007
Reviewed Websites, online short films, and ads for the premier international New Media design competition
2006 IFP Market, New York, May – July 2006
Evaluated screenplays for the Independent Feature Project and made recommendations for production
2006 No Borders, New York, June – July 2006
Evaluated screenplays for the annual competition hosted by Independent Feature Project
Chrysler Film Project, in conjunction with IFP, New York, April – July 2006
Evaluated screenplays to help select an emerging independent filmmaker to win $1,000,000 from Chrysler, Inc. to make a feature film
Eyebeam Fall 2005 Artists-in-Residence Program, New York, September 2005
Participated in a group critique of New Media art by recent graduates of MFA programs
Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Chicago, February 2004
Reviewed grant applications from Chicago-area filmmakers and made funding recommendations
University of Chicago MAPH Open House, Chicago, April 2003
Represented the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities for prospective students
Eyebeam Architectural Symposium, New York, December 2001
Participated in a panel of critics and curators at the New School for Social Research to discuss the design needs of a forthcoming exhibition and production space for New Media art in Manhattan
23rd Annual Independent Feature Project, New York, October 2001
Moderated panel of renowned title designers and special effects artists at the New York chapter of national film conference
TEACHING & ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
New York Univeristy
Adjunct Instructor, School for Continuing and Professional Studies (February. 2009 -- Present)
Cultural Criticism (Spring 2009 -- ongoing)
A course on the wide-ranging field of cultural journalism, focusing on the nature of "public intellectual" writing, arts reviews, profiles, and features on cultural topics. Additional issues include New Media, blogs, and appropriating academic thought for the popular press.
Writing Short (Scheduled for Fall, 2010)
A course on crafting tight, effective articles of fewer than 500 words, intended to train writers for Web-based outlets as well as magazines, with a focus on economy of language that can be applied to longer pieces as well
Hunter College, New York
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept. of Film and Media Studies (Dec. 2005 – Present)
Basic Reporting (Spring 2006 – ongoing)
Introductory course on reporting and writing journalistic prose; emphases include developing interview skills, accuracy in reportage, and the ideal of journalistic integrity
Film History I: 1895 to 1943 (Spring 2008)
Introductory course on the development of world cinema, beginning with its photographic origins in the mid-19th Century and ending with WWII propaganda films
Business of Magazines (Fall 2007)
Upper-level course on the history and business of magazine publishing in America. Emphasis placed on print magazines while touching on recent New Media developments (Blogs, online magazines, etc.).
Practical Film Analysis (Fall 2007)
Upper-level course analyzing Lars von Trier's 1996 film
Breaking the Waves in depth, while relating it to additional films by von Trier and others to augment students' understanding of the film's place in film history and theory.
Cinematic Space: Urban, Pastoral, and Psychic Atmospheres (Spring 2007)
Upper-level course on the use of space in cinema, emphasizing film theory and analysis. Special attention paid to Gus Van Sant, Terrence Malick, Peter Greenaway, Alfred Hitchcock, and Martin Scorsese.
Experiments in Realism (Fall 2006)
Upper-level course on realism in cinema, focusing on Lars von Trier’s “Dogma” method, as well as Soviet Realism, the French New Wave, and Direct Cinema
Introduction to Film (Summer 2006)
Introductory course on the history and aesthetics of international cinema
Magazine Writing (Spring 2006)
Course on the fundamentals of magazine journalism; emphases on writing arts reviews, feature stories, and profiles. Additional topics included factchecking, copyediting, photojournalism, Web publishing, and the business aspects of commercial magazines.
Columbia College, Chicago
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept. of Film and Video (Sept. 2004 – June 2005)
History of Cinema (Fall 2004 – Spring 2005)
Fifteen-week survey course tracking the development of international cinema from the medium’s beginnings in the 19th Century through contemporary work; emphasis on fiction film
East-West University, Chicago
Adjunct Professor, Dept. of English and Communications (March 2004 – June 2005)
Introduction to Film (Spring 2004, Spring 2005)
Introductory course on the history and theoretical foundations of film studies; lectures and screenings covered international and American movements. ·
Rhetoric & Style (Fall 2004 – Spring 2005)
First-year composition course on rhetorical strategies for effective speaking and written prose ·
Beauty and the Modern Age (Spring 2005)
Analyzed the evolving concept of beauty from the Industrial Revolution to the present through visual art, literature, philosophy, and architecture ·
Magazine Journalism (Winter 2005)
Introductory course on the art and process of magazine journalism: pitching story ideas, basic reporting skills, writing features and reviews, joining images with text, etc. Students developed and published a magazine during the class as a collective final project.* ·
Civilizations Rising (Fall 2004)
Interdisciplinary course on the development of world civilizations over the millennia, using Jared Diamond’s bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel as the text ·
Madness and Contemporary Culture (Spring 2004)
Interdisciplinary course on the topic of “madness” and contemporary culture through literature, film, visual art, and critical readings; discussions centered on themes of creativity, war, depression, and identity.
*Chicago Slice (Winter/Spring 2005)
Founded East-West’s first student-run magazine targeting the 50,000 college students who inhabit the city’s South Loop; served as faculty advisor.
The University of Chicago, Chicago
Peer Thesis Advisor, MAPH ·(December 2002 -- June 2003)
Thesis Writing Workshop
Provided editorial advice to other students in the university’s Master of Arts Program in the Humanities during the rigorous thesis writing process