Darwin Day. What is it? Where did it come from? And why is the Communication Studies Department so gung-ho about it?
Darwin Day is the celebration is Charles Darwin’s birthday! Charles Darwin was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to the science of evolution. He established that all species descended over time from common ancestors; i.e. humans descended from apes. Darwin had a major impact on Anthropology, but also on other studies; such as music, biology, psychology… and dare I say it, communication studies.
The Department of Communication Studies’ Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) II and Advertising II classes planned this year’s Darwin Day event. Everything from the IMC plan to the funny memes on the events’ facebook page, it was all done by students in the COM Department.
Which brings me to the event itself, #UNCWDarwinDay2017. Presented by the Department of Anthropology, and sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences, ETEAL, Honors College, and the Anthropology Club, Darwin Day was an evolutionary event at UNCW! The event included five-minute lightning talks from various faculty members on campus, trivia games, parody songs, delicious food, creative costumes, and even a lifesize cutout of Charles himself! In short, it was #LIT.
Our IMC II and Advertising II classes had a lot of fun working on this event, mainly because it was different! Together, we worked through the steps: research, creating content and graphics, writing the IMC plan, client presentations, and executing the IMC plan. Not only was this event a learning experience and a fun time for all who attended, but it taught the students working with this event countless lessons about Darwin and IMC.
Now, who’s ready for #UNCWDarwinDay2018?
–Kyndall DySard, ’17
IMC Hawks Blog 