Work with Educational Institutions
David has conducted lectures and semester long courses at some of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the United States. He has lectured on the "Hidden Secrets of our Presidents" as well as documentary film making. In addition to his university work he has taught and lectured at esteemed preparatory schools Mercersburg Academy, PA and Northfield Mount Hermon, MA.
"David is an extraordinary teacher, a spell-binding speaker with pertinent facts at the ready, rarely using notes... David's presentations were consistently the highlight of the course each year. I have 10 years of course evaluations that routinely praise his presentations."
Proposed Courses
Drawing on 850 tapes tracing a forty-year career as a documentary filmmaker, David is outlining courses that re-examine significant moments in US and World history through the eyes of those who were there. The digitized tapes will provide source material for project based learning. The goal is to enable the students to produce their own films and podcasts utilizing the archive. Below are two example courses, but David is happy to discuss other potential course subjects and how his archives could fit into an immersive educational experience.
Civil Rights Movement
Especially in today's volatile social climate surrounding race relations, it is important to examine the steps our country has taken to get to where we are, and how we can continue to move forward towards a more equitable society. This course benefits from original interviews with Rep. John Lewis, Julian Bond, H. Rap Brown, Dr. James Farmer, Andrew Young, Lady Bird Johnson, Ted Sorenson and many more. The Civil Rights course will include a trip to spots featured in the films: Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma, Philadelphia and Marks, Mississippi and ending up at the Loraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee.
The Cold War turns Hot
The Cold War course will provide students first-hand accounts of key moments in the 40-year struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Drawing from uncut interviews, featured in half a dozen award winning documentaries, students will be taught the significance of the incident and produce their own podcast or short form documentary. Topics to be explored include Yalta, the birth of the Atomic age, Cuba, Vietnam, Berlin, and China. Original interviews and content featuring Richard Nixon, Lady Bird Johnson, Robert McNamara, Arthur Schlesinger, James Baker, Walt Rostow, Clark Clifford, General William Westmorland, Edward Kennedy, Ted Sorensen, Mikhail Gorbachev and Curtis Roosevelt.