Thursday, September 15, 2016 8:00am-6:00pm, Sykes Student Union
Thursday, Film Media Workshop, 3:30-6:30pm, Sykes Student Union, with Dr. Luis Carlos Davis.
Thursday Evening, 7:00-9:00pm, Redemption of a Former Latino Gang Member, Main Hall, Room 168.
Friday, September 16, 2016 8:00am-1:30PM, Sykes Student Union
Friday 12:00 -1:30pm Special Joint Luncheon with West Chester Latino Professionals and Student Scholarship Awardees, Sykes Student Union
This interdisciplinary conference is designed for Latinos and non-Latinos alike, seeking to celebrate diversity and promote greater understanding and exchange in Hispanic Heritage Month.
The presence and influence of Latinos in southeastern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and the United States in general is indisputably on the rise. In the United States, after the last census numbers were collected it was announced that Hispanics are now the largest and fastest growing minority group, with 16.5% of the population. In Chester County, Pennsylvania the number of Latinos increased nearly 80% from 2000 to 2010. In West Chester, this translates to an increase of 8% of the total population.
On WCU's campus, the number of Latino/a students increased from 435 in 2010 to 690 in 2014, up from 3.5 to 5% of the population, whereas other minority students have decreased or stayed about the same (African-Americans at 9.1% in 2013, and Asians at 2.1%). The number of students in WCU's Latin American and Latino/a Studies Minor, Latino-American Students' Organization (LASO), Calypso, and Latino/a fraternities and sororities also continue to rise.
The Latino Communities Conference strives to continue to contribute to the WCU mission of responding thoughtfully to diversity, by working to build bridges – construir puentes - of communication and understanding between Latinos and non-Latinos in the region. The various tracks of panels, presentations, workshops, art and music aim to open up multiple "conversations" with and about Latinos, to make the campus climate more amenable for Latino/a students, staff, and faculty, as well as to create safe space for non-Latinos to ask questions and explore issues that might be new to them. Likewise, the inclusion of many local Latino leaders, teachers, professionals and artists from the region provides innumerable opportunities for networking and knowledge-building through personal connections.
Thursday Film Media Workshop 3:30 - 6:30pm
Dr. Luis Carlos Davis is an award-wining film director, who earned his PhD from the University of Arizona in the department Teaching, Learning & Sociocultural Studies, where he focused on media literacy and semiotics.
He will be offering a special three-hour Film Media Workshop for a limited number of faculty and students who wish to enhance their beginners’ level media production skills and experience. Luis Carlos Davis will share how to explore and incorporate video, audio, and photography into teaching, academic projects and media projects.
Participants will explore some of the psychological and emotional effects that size, shape, color, and space can have, and cover some of the framing and interviewing techniques. In addition, we will look at some video and audio technical production concepts and skills that can be applicable immediately and in future projects.
At the end of the workshop, Dr. Davis will consult for 15 minutes for those participants who have particular questions on their individual projects.
Participants will:
Explore how size, shapes and colors impact pictures and moving images.
Understand how effective composition and framing works using the camera.
Identify the difference between realism and formalism in storytelling.
Learn elements to consider before conducting an interview using video and audio.
Learn some of the different light sources used in video documentation.
Understand the difference between handheld, lavalier, and shotgun microphones.
Understand basic technical aspects to document using video, audio and photography effectively.