Reel Philanthropy: Lessons in Love Using Autoethnographic Filmmaking in Public Affairs Education

Abstract

Love is at the heart of the mission of public service. Nevertheless, the field of public administration has drifted away from this core principle. In this article, we propose an approach to integrating philanthropy education into the public affairs curriculum that could realign public service with its mission to love. We identify, however, a significant challenge that persists. That is, traditional philanthropic education often emphasizes “elite philanthropy” tied to unequal wealth distribution (what we refer to here as philanthropy’s hegemonic archetype). Thus, traditional philanthropic education, although conceptually rooted in love, is generally far removed from notions of love. To overcome this challenge, we focus on the use of experiential philanthropy as a means to empower students to engage in meaningful philanthropic acts. However, we acknowledge that the approach may not completely transform students due to, what studies have found to be, its oftentimes short-term impact. We, therefore, explore how combining experiential philanthropy with methods of auto-inquiry, specifically autoethnographic filmmaking, can liberate philanthropy from its “elite” image and sustain students’ genuine commitment to love—and ultimately to public service.