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Under the Influence: Teens and Screens
Summer Scholars Session I

In a world saturated with visual storytelling, from YouTube to Netflix to TikTok, what is the impact of the stories we consume every day on our own behavior and sense of self? Using the case study of alcohol, as it's represented in advertising, social media, feature films, and television, we'll examine the persuasive power of visual storytelling in shaping our beliefs and altering our actions.
 
This course is based on one of Notre Dame's most popular undergraduate courses that examines the power and persuasiveness of storytelling in popular culture.
 
Alcohol Use Disorder is a chronic relapsing brain disease. But when presented on screen, it’s entertainment. Why do we laugh, why do we cry, why do we emulate fictional characters whose on-camera drinking habits would lead to debilitating addiction in real life? From Joey King to Jonah Hill, we'll use the narrative of alcohol as presented in media, as an example of how fictional storytelling affects human behavior.
 

Course Schedule

This course will be offered during Summer Scholars Session I on campus.

Academic Directors

Ted Mandell

Ted Mandell

Ted Mandell (M.A. University of Iowa, B.A. University of Notre Dame) has taught film production at Notre Dame for the past 37 years, specializing in documentary filmmaking. He also teaches the university integration course "Drunk on Film: The Psychology of Storytelling with Alcohol and Its Effects on Alcohol Consumption". Past director of numerous features on Notre Dame Athletics, Ted is co-director of the documentary 88 and 1 (ESPN), the award winning documentary Okuyamba, and executive producer of the documentary series First Time Fans. Ted is also in charge of the annual Notre Dame Student Film Festival, has penned numerous national op-ed columns on media and popular culture, and is the author of the multimedia book Heart Stoppers and Hail Marys: The Greatest College Football Finishes (since 1970). 

Twitter: @TedMandell

nd.edu/~tmandell

und.com/FirstTimeFans

Andrea Christensen

Andrea Christensen

Andrea Christensen is the director of Education, Schooling, and Society (ESS), and teaches core courses and electives for ESS and psychology. She is a former school teacher, who received her bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame in psychology, with a minor in ESS. Andrea received her Ph.D. in the department of psychology at Notre Dame under the direction of Julie Turner. While in graduate school, she was the recipient of one of Notre Dame’s prestigious Presidential Fellowships, and she received a Kaneb Center TA Award in recognition of her excellence in teaching. Andrea’s research concerns effective teacher instruction and classroom practices that support student motivation to learn. She is currently working on a project with Julie Turner investigating how teachers’ involvement in long-term, collaborative professional development focused on students’ motivation influences teacher change and subsequently students’ engagement. She has taught courses in both ESS and psychology, to wide acclaim, and she will also teach Development and Moral Education in Childhood and Adolescence for the ACE Teaching Fellows summer program.