Research as storytelling: Goshen Spotlight Documentaries

This article originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of The Bulletin.

AT GOSHEN COLLEGE, research isn’t just about data points and lab results; it’s also about uncovering histories, amplifying voices and shaping community narratives through the power of video storytelling.

Led by Associate Professor of Communication Kyle Hufford since 2013, the multi-year Goshen Spotlight Documentaries project provides students with a unique platform to engage in experiential research while contributing to the community archive. Conducted within the college’s Maple Scholars summer research program, students dive into a topic of their choosing, from local histories to contemporary issues, using the lens of documentary filmmaking to explore their community.

Students have researched and created documentaries about the history of such subjects as the Goshen Theater, a local family that saved more than 13 families from the Holocaust, Blosser’s Island and the history of Goshen as a Sundown Town.

What distinguishes this project is its emphasis on the research process itself. Students are active participants, conducting interviews, scouring archives and immersing themselves in their chosen subjects, before editing and producing a documentary film that is a valuable asset to the larger community.

By Ashlee Hoogenboom