Behind the Scenes in the Dominican Republic

This spring, 11 students spent a week traveling and filming in the Dominican Republic as part of a documentary filmmaking class taught by Lang Visiting Professor Louis Massiah. Their goal: to each produce a film that examined how concepts of "nation" and "state" developed in this post-colonial society. In his film, for instance, sociology major Zein Nakhoda '12 examined the relationship between colonial history and contemporary tourist economies. Bertolain Elysee '11, who graduated with a B.A. in sociology and anthropology, used water as a lens through which to explore the kinds of economic and social exchanges which have been tangibly enabled by it as well as the symbolic values ascribed to it. Here, Zein and Elysee give a behind the scenes glimpse at the trip and the experiences they shared. In addition to Nakhoda and Elysee, students in the class are: Morgan Bartz '14 Philippe Celestin '11 Taryn Colonnese '13 Ben Firestone '11 Andrés Freire '11 Eva McKend '11 Sara Nawaz '11 Deivid Rojas '11 Emilyn Sosa '11