UNC J-school student to participate in Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics program

Megan Camm, a master’s student in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, was selected as one of 13 journalism students chosen by Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) to participate in a two-week program in New York, Germany and Poland in May. This trip is designed to teach students about the contemporary ethical issues facing their professions by using the Holocaust and the conduct of their professions in Nazi Germany as a framework for study.  

Camm and the other FASPE journalism fellows will begin orientation at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City, visiting the Museum’s exhibits, meeting with Holocaust survivors, and working with FASPE staff and guest scholars. The European portion of the program will be held in Berlin and Nuremberg, where Fellows will have the opportunity to study historical and cultural sites. Fellows will also travel to Auschwitz, where they will tour Auschwitz-Birkenau and work with the distinguished educational staff at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.

“Journalism—written, aural, or visual— has the power to educate and influence public opinion and, I hope, generate positive change,” said Camm. “I cannot imagine a more instructive or meaningful experience to start my career with than participating in FASPE.”

FASPE aims to provide tomorrow’s professional leaders with opportunities to increase their awareness and preparedness for the ethical issues they will confront in their careers. By educating students about the causes of the Holocaust and promoting awareness of related contemporary issues, FASPE seeks to prevent future collaboration by professional and religious leaders in genocide, racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia.

The 2012 program will be led by Andie Tucher, associate professor and director of the Ph.D. program at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; and Bill Grueskin, Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Professional Practice at the Columbia journalism school.

FASPE’s programs for students address contemporary ethical issues through a unique historical context. FASPE is predicated upon the power of place, and in particular the first-hand experience of visiting Auschwitz and traveling through Germany and Poland where fellows study the past and consider how to apply the lessons of history as they confront the ethical challenges of their profession.

FASPE works under the auspices of the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust and in cooperation with the Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, Berlin and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, O?wi?cim, Poland. For more information about topics the students will study and to view a video about FASPE, visit www.mjhnyc.org/faspe.