Briana O’Higgins: F*t, H*iry, Di*abled: Resistance, Reclamation, and the Possibility of Bodies
F*t, H*iry and Di*abled is a three part audio series about bodies in resistance to prescribed and expected corporeal ‘normality.’ In the 21st century public health discourses about fatness, gender and ability are ubiquitous, but often oppressive. These are the stories of those who have resisted conventional discourses and reclaimed their bodies in liberation, and as testament to bodily possibility.

Damaris Santos-Palmer: Salud
Salud is a three part audio documentary about the relationship of undocumented Latina/o immigrants to the health care system. Undocumented immigrants are often portrayed as robbing state coffers by utilizing social services set up for citizens. Salud challenges this stereotype with stories of three immigrants who are trying to survive in post 9/11 America, while worrying about their health.

Amanda Abel: Closer to Home
Closer to Home is a photographic documentary by that explores the movement of people who, by living in tiny homes, have taken large steps toward sustainability. While the average square footage of new home size in America has risen to over 2400 square feet (2.5 times the average size in 1950), small-housers typically occupy only 70-400 square feet per person. In this time of extreme economic and environmental crisis, more and more people are choosing “to live simply so that others can simply live.”

Teresa Kurtak:  The Cartel of Good Intentions
Set in Burkina Faso, The Cartel of Good Intentions is a multimedia installation that explores how and the West continues to misrepresent food security issues in Africa. Though widely consumed, Africa's native foods are virtually unknown elsewhere. This is no insignificant omission, for “ignorance is more than just an absence of knowledge: it has a history.. .a political geography laden with political and cultural struggle.”  Why is there an absence of African food in discussions of African food security?

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Kimberly Bautista: Justice for my Sister
Adela Chacón Tax was violently killed in July 2007 and left behind a houseful of boisterous family members, who are grappling with the aftermath of her death.  One sister, Rebeca,is and confronts a society and legal system that views violence against women as normal. Justice for My Sister investigates the concept of femicide, or gender-based killings, in Guatemala, and how different people in the rural town of Escuintla remember and make sense of Adela’s death.

Valerie Krex: The Pink Bubble
A bittersweet tale of one woman’s quest for American upward mobility.  The story centers on Mary Kay Cosmetics saleswoman Hannah Price, a mixed-race working mother who is trying her best to elevate her family from poverty to the middle class.  The film follows a year in her life as Hannah sets out to earn the ultimate symbol of Mary Kay success: the pink Cadillac.

Lisa Mastramico:  “Quanto Vale?” (How much is it worth)
The tourist quest for something truly authentic can be difficult in today’s world.  As the proprietor of an antique store in Salvador, Brazil, João Cabral offers something different. Moments in other people’s lives – weddings, baby photos, snapshots and more -  make up part of his inventory.  But where does he get these photos and why do tourists buy them? Quanto Vale?  is an exploration of how these commodified images represent a microcosm of our globalized world.

Elissa Moon:  Far From Home
Far From Home follows three individuals whose lives have been intertwined with San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital, the largest nursing home in the country.  Laguna Honda is owned and operated by the city, and serves as a public safety net for residents of varying ages and disabilities.  But these residents prefer to live in the community rather than Laguna Honda.  Far From Home explores their struggle for independence, choice, and control over their own lives.

Chris Newman: Finding D-QU: The Lonely Struggle of California’s only Tribal College
In 2005 D-Q University, California’s only tribal college, was shut down after a 35-year struggle. Since then, the school’s board of trustees, past students, and community members have tried to reopen the school against all odds. Finding D-QU explores stories of hope, healing and conflict that arise as D-Q University’s supporters fight to hold on to a dream that was never fully realized. Will D-QU collapse, or will the vision of self-reliant educational ever be fulfilled?

Jason Wallach: Until the Last Drop: Tales from El Salvador's Agua-apocalypse
El Salvador receives three times the world’s average rainfall annually, yet 40% of Salvadorans have no potable water in their homes. While the debate over water rages worldwide, Until the Last Drop examines two conflicting visions of water management in El Salvador. Is water a human right or a commodity to be bought and sold?  In a road trip through the country, we witness real-life impacts of the crisis on everyday people who need water to survive.

The foundation of the program lies in its social science approach to sociopolitical issues, prioritizing the graphic expression of people's lives and cultures, the conditions under which they work to sustain themselves, challenges to their survival, and strategies for improving their lives. Students learn how to translate various academic interpretations of social life into effective, accessible and professional quality products.