Speaking of Kevin Willmott, I got a newsletter from my old history department and they are trying something new. They have cranked up a joint program with my old journalism school to offer credits in history documentary film-making. (I was a dual major enrolled in both schools when there were no joint programs.)
Not to be mysterious, these are the Maxwell School and the Newhouse School at Syracuse U. Students have to produce a film in this course, which gets me to thinking.
What kind of history documentary would be acceptable to history academics?
If the deal had been between Newhouse and say the science faculty instead of the history department, would students be allowed to submit Steve Irwin type stuff for credit? And what, in history terms, would be a Steve Irwin equivalent? Ken Burns' nonsense? But it's based on the highly esteemed pop history synthesis of James McPherson! The Confederate States of America? That's merely history-based.
No offense to my alma mater, but I think the history faculty has laid down with the dogs. Flea alert. It'll be fun for the students, in any case.
