Around the Schools: Faculty of Arts & Sciences

“Harvard Shorts” is not stock market lingo, nor abbreviated pants for wearing on a treadmill. It’s a new University-wide digital movie contest, sponsored by the Division of Humanities. Inspiration came from the ubiquity of video productions in academic life, their aesthetic possibilities, and their potential for enriching scholarship.

The contest is a search for what organizers call “polished, coherent, and enjoyable” three-minute explorations of teaching and research.

There are five categories: scholarly serials; scholarly shorts; shorts on the topic “Why are the arts and humanities important?”; course or departmental trailers; and shorts on novel ways to use library resources. Prizes range from $500 to $750. The top films will be screened April 24.

All submissions must be free of copyright restrictions. The rules for movie-making technology are flexible — even PowerPoint is eligible — and organizers will hold training seminars for novices. All current Harvard faculty, students, and staff, alone or in teams, are eligible. Submissions, due between March 15 and April 9, must be submitted online. The voting is online too, between April 16 and 23.

For more details, go to the Harvard Shorts Web site. You also can follow the contest on Twitter: #HarvardShorts. If you have questions, contact the contest organizers at harvardshorts2010@gmail.com.

— Corydon Ireland

­If you have an item for Around the Schools, please e-mail your write-up (150-200 words) to georgia_bellas@harvard.edu.