Questioning
official
narratives
Bryan Stevenson
Read for next week
Alert: The following items include descriptions of violence against women and racial epithets.
Nicholas Kadar, Roberto Romero, Zoltán Papp, "Ignaz Semmelweis: 'The Savior of Mothers' on the 200th Anniversary of the Birth," American Journal of Obstetric Gynecology, 2018
Ed Bradley, "Johnny D," 60 Minutes, 1992
The Ellsberg Archive Project, “Pentagon Papers, Watergate and Trials,” University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2020
Optional Video: Bryan Stevenson, “We need to talk about an injustice,” TED Talk, 2012
Lecture / Q&A
What is an official narrative? What is a cultural narrative? How do you question these narratives in a way that benefits the public?
WK 3 Detail
STORIES & REPORTERS
- Review stories in this week's homework
- Reporters: Woodward & Bernstein, Ed Bradley, Bellingcat
WORKSHOP
- Writing: Shining a light on the perpetrator
- Research: Review ISP toolkit
- Exercise: Some official narratives we'd like to question
Homework
- Read/watch assigned materials for next week
- Click the “Homework Tools” tab at the bottom of this page for homework instructions and tools
WK 3 Homework Tools
Do the following items for homework, according to the instructions below. This assignment is due on Brightspace next Tuesday at the start of class.
1: Read/watch this week's assigned materials.
2: Pretending that you are Bryan Stevenson, or Ignaz Semmelweis, or Daniel Ellsberg, write a one-paragraph pitch for a story about ONE of the following:
- the case of Walter McMillian, who in 1988 was tried and convicted for murder in Monroeville, Alabama
- what the Pentagon Papers, leaked in 1971, revealed about the Vietnam War
- how, for decades, doctors were inadvertently killing mothers in childbirth—and what happened when in 1857 this information was revealed
3: For EACH of the stories above, write a single sentence that you feel states the main problem that this story exposes. All three of your sentences must be in the ACTIVE TENSE.
General Research
Nexis/Lexis (via Xavier University Library)—A vast database of news articles, lawsuits, and other public information
Bellingcat's Online Investigations Toolkit—A collection of search tools used by Bellingcat, a leading international investigative group
Google Datasets Search—Locates free online datasets
Google Images/Google Lens—Identifies photos and sound recordings and provides information about the stories behind them
The Data Center—Data and maps tracking social and economic patterns in Southeast Louisiana
Criminal Justice
US Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer—A national database of criminal justice activity including various kinds of crime, police use-of-force incidents, attacks on law enforcement officers, and law enforcement officer suicides
New Orleans Police Department—Crime map, demographics, analytics, police management information, and historical crime records made public by the New Orleans Police Department
Politics
FollowTheMoney—Tracks political money in both federal and state elections
Louisiana Ethics Administration—Personal financial disclosures of candidates, campaign finance information, lobbyist information
VoteSmart—Bios, ratings, financial information, voting records, and speeches of political candidates and officeholders
OpenSecrets—Tracks political donations, politicians’ and lobbyists’ personal financial information
Federal Election Commission—Tracks finances of federal political campaigns
LittleSis—Maps out relationships of money, politics, and influence
Ballotpedia—Information on government officials, policies, campaigns and elections
Businesses and Nonprofits
OpenCorporates—Database of companies and company officers around the world
CorporationWiki—Traces the connections between people and businesses
LA Secretary of State—Displays information that companies must file in order to do business in Louisiana
CA Secretary of State—Displays information that companies must file in order to do business in California
Coordinated Legal Tech—Page of links to all Secretary of State websites and related sites that include business filings
EDGAR—Securities and Exchange Commission information about publicly listed companies, including company filings and enforcement actions
GuideStar—Information about nonprofit and charitable organizations
Environment
US Environmental Protection Agency—Website of the US agency charged with protecting the country's environment, including air, land, water, and other resources affecting human health
Tulane Environmental Law Clinic—Includes reports and legal documents from cases brought by a group of environmental attorneys who bring cases concerning the endangerment and destruction of Louisiana's natural resources
Louisiana Environmental Action Network—Information and community resources from Louisiana's premier environmental activist group
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources—Website of the Louisiana agency concerning the state's natural resources, especially oil and gas
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality—Website of the Louisiana agency concerning the state's air, land, and water, particularly as it pertains to human health
Census
Census Reporter—A website designed to facilitate searches of US census data
US Census/QuickFacts—Enter a county/parish in the search bar and then choose a category to browse
US Census/American Community Survey—Enter a county/parish in the search bar and then choose a category to browse
Maps and Mapping
Google Earth Online: A satellite map of the Earth that lets you search, measure distances, and create online maps
Google Maps: Includes detailed street and satellite views, as well as search, directions, traffic, and measuring tools
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