Associate Professor John Freeman
led this study-abroad course to Berlin from May 16 to 29, 2008. It was the
fourth
summer in a row he helped students conduct field research to document
the spirit and vitality of the city where he attended high school as an
"Air Force brat." At the peak of the Cold War, from 1968 to
1971, Freeman lived in West Berlin, surrounded by The Berlin Wall, a barrier
he thought would never fall. The idea of returning to a free and unified
Berlin with students came to him while on sabbatical from UF in the
fall of 2004.
During the two-week
course, 15 students are introduced to the city through bicycle and
walking tours, followed by meetings with foreign correspondents. Guests
in 2008 included distinguished bureau chiefs: Andrew Purvis with TIME
magazine, and Ian Johnson with The Wall Street Journal. Students are free to find and develop a picture story that
suits their interests, as well as stand-alone photos (see Gallery). A
unique aspect of the course is that slideshows are completed and
posted live to the Web from Berlin. Special thanks to Joe Weiss,
developer of "Soundslides,"
who provided complimentary software for the course. Like always, the group celebrated its success
with a dinner
high atop Berlin's landmark TV Tower on the final night.
Freeman is a tenured
associate professor in the department of journalism at the University of
Florida and is a two-time winner of the College Teacher of the Year
award. He has also been named Educator of the Year by the National
Press Photographer Association. He is a graduate of the Missouri School
of Journalism and has a master's in communication from Wichita State
University, where he taught for 10 years before joining the faculty at
Florida in 1991. Publications he has worked for include The New York
Times, U.S. News and World Report, Getty Images, The Los Angeles Times,
The Wichita Eagle and The Bergen Co. (N.J.) Record. Freeman is married and has two children in their 20s.
Links of interest:
2008 trip
Blog |
2005
website |
2006 website |
2007 website |
John Freeman homepage
Fat
Tire Bike Tour |
Original Berlin Walks Tour |
Transit-Loft Hotel |
Official Berlin City Tourism Site
|
John Freeman
An earlier visit to the Wall as a
9-year-old. |