UAB’s Ethnographic Filmmaking course, offered in the spring semester every year to both traditional and nontraditional students, allows students to create documentaries capturing the lives in and around the city of Birmingham and Alabama. Michele Forman, director of media studies, began the class as a pilot project in 1999. “It’s been offered since 2001 as an upper-level filmmaking class and a UHP seminar,” said Forman. Because students from different majors and backgrounds take the course both Forman and students learn from each other. “There is something that happens that is great in the room when you have students that are majoring in everything. Through the years, there…
Author: Anjali Thottassery
UAB’s Beyond Measures, the premier a cappella group on campus since 2015, have been working hard in their organization before and during COVID. Beyond Measures is an undergraduate registered student organization that is open to any undergraduate student at UAB wanting to explore their interest in singing. The members’ majors range from immunology to anthropology to musical theatre. Each member has a different level of musical knowledge, allowing for a diverse group of students. Meghana Jamched, a junior majoring in immunology and a member of this organization, says that Beyond Measures started as a way to be involved with music on campus. “The group was created out of a want for an alternative way to sing and get…
This piece first appeared in our March 2021 Magazine March 11 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. In the following days, then-president Donald Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency and issued travel ban from Europe. In the following weeks, states issued stay-at-home orders, restrictions on the amount of toilet paper and hand sanitizer that can be bought and high unemployment rates. Now 500,000 deaths later, we are approaching one year since our lives have experienced change emotionally, physically and mentally. Dr. Paul Erwin, dean of the School of Public Health, said he remembers telling employees to be…
Students were able to show off their talent in a new way for the UAB Student Arts Council’s virtual concert. The three acts prerecorded their performances at the ArtPlay house, a Victorian-style house which is the home of an Alys Stephens Center arts education-based initiative. Sadie Farmer, a sophomore majoring in musical theatre, said there were some pros of being prerecorded for the concert. “One pro is we got to record each song a few times,” Farmer said. “In reality, some runs of a song are better than others. We got to have a really good run and have that one be the one we are going to present.” Terrell…
As the Holiday season approaches, The Alys Stephens Center has provided a unique way for the people of Birmingham to watch the Holiday Soul show presented by Eric Essix through a drive-in concert. This year more than ever, musicians have had to change the way performance is done. Essix has done four live streaming events just in the past month and is planning more for the next year. The music industry is trying to accommodate for the pandemic with new formats such as virtual performances and drive-in concerts, which is the new format of his upcoming Holiday Soul show. This…
November 14th is the Hindu holiday Diwali, and a day later, on November 15th, the Indian Cultural Association at UAB will be holding their Diwali celebration, but will look a little bit different than past years. Diwali, also called the Festival of Lights, is a Hindu holiday to celebrate the defeat of the demon Ravana by the god Rama. His return from battle is met with lights guiding him back to his village hence the importance of light during this holiday. People decorate their homes with diyas (lights) and rangolis, have big feasts, dress up, dance and sing. One of…