Description

Iowa Stories & Lived Experiences (ISLE) is an intensive two-week multimedia workshop offered in the summer that gives students real-world experience in collaborative journalism. The immersive format of the workshop allows students to focus their energy on one project while producing portfolio-quality work. During the first week of the workshop, students are embedded in a select Iowa community to document its stories and explore its connection to a central theme. The second week of the workshop is spent in production as students edit, collect data and build upon their visual storytelling skills. Projects incorporate photography, video, audio, emerging media, and data visualizations, culminating in a final screening of student work. 

ISLE-poster

ISLE 2025 Workshop

Found in Translation

This inaugural workshop focused on exploring the cultural, economic, and political currents that shape the lives of African immigrants in Eastern Iowa. The completed project will premiere on September 13, 2025, at FilmScene in Iowa City in partnership with the African Festival of Arts and Culture.

ISLE church stills

ISLE 2026 Workshop

TBD

Coming soon! Enrollment details for the summer 2026 workshop will be posted when available.

Questions?

Alex Scott

Alex Scott

Assistant Professor

alex-scott@uiowa.edu
W339 Adler Journalism Building

Kevin Ripka

Kevin Ripka

Associate Professor of Instruction

kevin-ripka@uiowa.edu
W341 Adler Journalism Building