By Jennifer Usovicz
On display on the fourth floor of the Ridgeway building are the photographs shot by Suffolk students across the Atlantic in Spain, work that is a product of Professor Ken Martin’s course, “Lens on Spain: Photojournalism in Madrid.”
The class is run exclusively in the summer and fulfills the expanded classroom requirement. Students considering this course do not need to be photography or arts major, as the course is an elective. By touring the city of Madrid, the class gives students a cultural experience as well as an educational one as they learn how to operate a camera like a professional.
“We learn the basic principles of photography as it applies to journalism,” said Martin. “Once we learn how to take the photographs, we then go out and learn how to do photo essays, cover the news, and tell stories.”
Martin, who has taught photojournalism courses in both West Africa and Italy, started the course in 2013.
The photos that emerged from last year’s class show the group exploring the city and learning about the history of Spain. One image depicts Almudena Cros, an art history professor at Suffolk University’s Madrid Campus, wearing the Spanish flag of the Second Republic over her shoulders.
“We encounter the culture every day through a series of field trips and tell a story from many different perspectives,” said Martin.
Other images from the course depict the landscape of Spain, particularly on a field trip with Cros in the countryside. One photo depicts a group of elderly Spanish women sitting on a bench together on a busy street. The students managed to vibrantly capture the social life in Madrid. Cros likes to lead students on tours of museums and invites them to participate in local holidays.
In addition to the outings that Cros helps plan for the class, Martin also takes great care to plan outings around the city that will give ample opportunities for students to use their camera to tell a unique story.
“I design assignments that kind of force them to meet people, not just their host families or friends, but strangers from around the country and tell their stories. That’s what photojournalism is.”
The Madrid Campus is not only home to Suffolk Boston students, but also French business students and a small portion of students native to Spain interested in studying in Boston.
In addition, the class is not only being offered to Suffolk students, but also to students at Chapman University in California and other universities across the United States as well as internationally.
“We expect our students to be getting out all over the world. We need to be engaged with the world and become global citizens,” said Martin.
This class is a once in a lifetime chance to explore Spain and learn the culture and customs of a country with a long, interesting history. The class is on photography, but students will learn about art, history, and politics while capturing unique memories in Madrid.
