As his 15th year at the University comes to an end, Tom Mascaro, associate professor in the department of Telecommunications, decided to include a documentary minor in the department.
During his time here, Mascaro taught TV production, but his research is in documentary studies so it seemed logical to the department to add the minor, he said.
“There are a lot of students, and even faculty interested in documentary studies,” Mascaro said.
The minor will consist of seven courses, or 21 credit hours, and of those seven courses, three are required.
TCOM 2900 [Research and Proposal Writing], TCOM 3000 [America’s Documentary Story through 1968], and TCOM 3100 [Documenting Human Global Challenges after 1968] are the required courses.
Mascaro will teach TCOM 3000 in the fall, which includes civil rights history, Vietnam history and counter-culture. He said that students have already signed up for the class.
“I’m hoping that people will realize it is offered and could be a complement regardless of what your major is,” he said.
Theodore Rippey, associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, also agrees that all other disciplines can benefit from this minor and has been a big support in the process.
Treasure Brown, University sophomore and visual communication technology major, is considering the documentary minor.
According to the University website, VCT majors use video and other interactive multimedia tools in a variety of work settings.
“Although I am a VCT major, I think that a documentary minor can help me improve my video recording and production skills,” Brown said.
Some other supporters of the idea are Lori Ligget, lecturer in the department of Telecommunications, who will also be teaching TCOM 2900, Ewart Skinner, associate professor in the department of telecommunications and Jose Cardenas.
Cardenas is a cinematographer and videographer who has been teaching video production at the University for 10 years.
He has been a camera operator by trade since 1983 and has shot various PBS documentaries in the past.
When the idea to start a documentary minor was proposed to him he “jumped at the chance” to join the committee.
“I am excited to get the minor added,” he said.
His love for documentaries was expressed through his excitement.
“Documentaries are where you learn about human nature. Unless these stories are told, nobody would know about these things that changed history,” Cardenas said.
University senior Gary Galbreath is a telecommunications major.
After learning of the new minor he agrees that it is a good idea to add the minor to the University.
“I probably won’t add the minor but I think it is good to have those other options for people to expand their horizons,” he said.
Mascaro is excited to teach about the history of America’s documentaries including documentary producers such as Ted Yates, Henry Hampton and David Fanning.
“I think there’s a lot of great models out there for students. It’s up to them to choose which route they want to go,” Mascaro said.
