Research and Innovation in STEAM Education (RISE)

Erin Smith

Erin Smith
"Also, you'll find a pair of safety glasses and some earplugs under your seats. Please feel free to use them."
—Max Fischer, Rushmore

Contact

  • Teaching Professor in Digital Media and Cinema, Humanities
  • Director, Humanities Digital Media Zone
  • Director, 41 North Film Festival
  • PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Biography

Erin Smith teaches film and digital media with a focus on documentary. She directs the annual 41 North Film Festival, a four-day event that brings independent films and filmmakers to campus and the community each fall. She edited and co-produced the documentary Yoopera!, which examines the importance of cultural memory and history through the story of Finnish-Americans who commissioned an opera about the long-forgotten 1906 murder of Finnish miners in Rockland, Michigan. Dr. Smith's current project examines the impact of generative AI on documentary practice and ethics. She also oversees the Walker Lab's production resources and lab spaces.

Links of Interest

41 North Film Festival

Specialties

  • Digital Media Production
  • Documentary Production and Theory
  • Film Theory and Criticism
  • Academic Technology Administration