Next West Media Lab

In Partnership with Whitman College

Next West Media Lab was an intensive, experiential learning program, focusing on gathering and sharing the stories of voices less often heard in the rural, eastern portions of Washington and Oregon on issues relating to land, water, and climate justice.

The program involved a spring semester seminar focusing on the legacies of manifest destiny, racism, and cultural exclusion; students and faculty took to the field to meet people who are confronting these legacies and envisioning more just futures for the region. They listened to the stories of tribal leaders, frontline workers in environmental health, land rights activists, and climate activists. Threading these stories into the present, the aim was to unsettle established narratives about rural spaces and highlight pockets of rural resistance and renewal that will be the seeds of the Next West, a place of increasing diversity and importance to climate mitigation and justice.

As a final project, students worked in teams to produce and publish an original podcast, bringing the stories they encountered to a wider audience. Students had the opportunity to develop and hone digital storytelling skills, including narrative development, audio podcast production, and digital photography.

The program had two co-requisites. Prior to the summer intensive field experience, students admitted to the program enrolled in the 1-credit seminar in the spring, followed by a 3-credit summer experience, roughly two weeks in May and two weeks in June. The program took place in the Spring/Summer 2022 and Spring/Summer 2023. The program was limited to 14 students. 

Team