Associate
Professor John
Freeman led this study-abroad course to Berlin from May 20 to
June 2, 2011. It was the seventh summer in a row he helped students conduct
field research to document the spirit and vitality of the city where he
attended high school as an "Air Force brat." At the peak of the
Cold War, 1968 to 1971, Freeman lived in West Berlin, surrounded by the
Berlin Wall, a barrier he thought would never fall. The idea of returning
to a free and unified Berlin with students came to him while on sabbatical
from UF in the fall of 2004.
During the
two-week course, 12 to 15 students are introduced to the city
through bicycle and walking tours, followed by meetings with a foreign correspondents. Guests in 2011 included
AFP photojournalist John MacDougall. Students are free to find and develop
a picture story that suits their interests, as well as stand-alone photos
(see Gallery). A unique aspect of the course is that slideshows are
completed and posted live to the Web from Berlin. Special thanks to Joe
Weiss, developer of "Soundslides
," who provided complimentary
software. The group celebrated its success with a farewell dinner atop
Berlin's landmark TV
Tower.
Freeman is a tenured associate
professor in the department
of journalism at the University of Florida and is a two-time
winner of the College Teacher of the Year award. He has also been named
Educator of the Year by the National
Press Photographer Association. He is a graduate of the Missouri
School of Journalism and has a master's in communication from
Wichita State University, where he taught for 10 years before joining the
faculty at Florida in 1991. Publications he has worked for include The
New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, Getty Images, The
Los Angeles Times, The Wichita Eagle and The Bergen Co.
(N.J.) Record. He was a Faculty Fellow at National Geographic in
1996. Freeman is married and has two children in their 20s.
Links of interest: 2005 site | 2006 site | 2007
site | 2008
site | 2009
site | John Freeman homepage
Fat
Tire Bike Tour | Original
Berlin Walks Tour | Transit-Loft
Hotel | Official
Berlin City Tourism Site
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John Freeman
An earlier visit to the Wall as a
9-year-old.
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