By Benjamin Pola

GLAAD Brings Real-World Advocacy to SCA Workshops

Evan Hughes, SCA’s Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion and Professor in Media Arts + Practice is spearheading a partnership with GLAAD (The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), to help further SCA’s efforts in creating a more inclusive community for students, staff, and faculty. GLAAD will contribute to various workshops, both in and outside of the classroom, on issues surrounding representation, inclusion, and transformative best practices. This partnership aims to raise awareness on issues that LGBTQ+ creatives face when navigating entertainment careers, while also discussing ways in which allies can offer support.

As the professor for SCA’s undergraduate diversity course requirement, CTCS 150: Visions of Diversity in the Cinematic Arts, Hughes reached out to GLAAD and secured a series of guest speakers who can address how diversity, intersecting identities, and representation can be celebrated and respectfully portrayed within media. This semester, Monica Trasandes (she/her), GLAAD Director of Spanish Language & Latinx Media & Representation, spoke to Hughes’ class about queer, Latinx storytelling within the realms of network television and streaming platforms.

The main goal of CTCS 150 is to encourage students to think critically about issues of diversity and inclusion and identify areas in which representation can improve. All lectures, guest speakers, and screenings for the class aim to inspire students to explore and highlight representation in creative ways. GLAAD representatives will help to contextualize the course materials with real-world examples and challenges.

This semester (Spring 2022) Hughes also shifted from having students turn in a traditional term paper and instead is requiring them to create and submit Media Tool Kits as their final projects. Hughes stated, “It is a G.E. class, but I’m trying to honor that our students are creatives.” The students are charged with exploring how they can make a change within their respective areas of study. Every tool kit will look different depending on the student’s degree program; however, every project will focus on an area of entertainment and media that can improve on its representation and inclusion. The final deliverable will be a comprehensive media tool kit that includes a plan and execution strategy to make that change.

The GLAAD partnership will continue through the next academic year, with two staff trainings scheduled for this summer. Additional workshops for students are scheduled for Fall 2022, including guest speakers on Trans representation and gender diversity. For more information, visit https://cinema.usc.edu/about/diversity.cfm