MIT Graduate Program in Comparative Media Studies

02/10/2021

From grad student Ámbar Reyes for IndieWire:

"Both of these projects are strong examples of VR as a means of combating social injustice. These creators are from underrepresented backgrounds telling the story of their communities. I felt invigorated by their passion when they talked about their immersive films. I’m grateful that in these unprecedented times, with a future awash in uncertainty, these creators can remind us that stories have the ability to ignite conversations about our past, present, and future. Storytelling is the most powerful tool that we have to change the narrative."

02/02/2021

CMS alum Matthew Weise, '04, writes in VICE that "we all know Duke Nukem is terrible garbage, but in a way that’s made him a convenient strawman, something we can always use to excuse ourselves from not doing better. It’s easy to point at Duke Nukem and say “Well, we’re not doing *that*!”

Duke aged poorly and so did the games starring him, but we're still stuck with more clever imitators.

12/09/2020

You gotta feel bad for our prof Justin Reich. One of the most upbeat people we know, yet he's become reporters' go-to source for online learning buzzkill:

“'When we switched to virtual, it was very overwhelming and it seemed like such a daunting task,' she said. And now 'I am so happy with what the kids have been able to do.'

Justin Reich says Kozicki’s experience is unusual for teachers this year."

Most schooling has been offered online this semester. Teachers are working hard to improve that experience, but many students are still left behind.

12/02/2020

It turns out that it is not only social scientists and humanists who are raising concerns about the realities and directions of AI; many students and faculty...

12/02/2020

Livestreamed, tomorrow (Thursday) at 5pm EST...

Presenters include creative director and i-doc pioneer Jeff Soyk and the project directors, anthropologist Chris Walley and filmmaker Chris Boebel.

11/24/2020

"Trump’s clear loss in the presidential election has precipitated a deep rift in the right-wing information ecosystem, as media outlets, tech platforms, and individual commentators have been forced to choose between upholding reality and indulging those who insist that the president actually won."

Fox News acknowledged Trump’s loss. Facebook and Twitter cracked down on election lies. But true believers can get their misinformation elsewhere.

11/23/2020

Next Thursday, join us to discuss new approaches to engaging public history...

What are some unexplored ways that online environments can help us rethink “the archive”? How might i-doc storytelling tools expand what an archive can be as well as public engagement with history itself? This presentation explores these questions through a demonstration of the online Southeast Chicago Archive and Storytelling Project. The project is based on a collaboration with the Southeast Chicago Historical Museum, a small volunteer-led museum in a diverse former steel mill region. The digital archive highlights objects saved and donated by community residents, what those items meant to donors, and the stories told around and through these objects. The website uses a variety of online storytelling techniques to help viewers connect with the objects and the histories from which they emerge. It also highlights how the historic conflicts found in this multi-racial working-class community – including those around labor, immigration, racial, and environmental struggles – continue to resonate in the contemporary moment. The website helps diverse working-class histories come alive for viewers through both objects and the spoken word in ways that are simultaneously striking and reflective of everyday life. Presenters include creative director and i-doc pioneer Jeff Soyk and the project directors, anthropologist Chris Walley and filmmaker Chris Boebel.

Jeff Soyk is an award-winning media artist with credits as creative director and UI/UX designer on PBS Frontline’s Inheritance (2016 News & Documentary EMMY winner and Peabody-Facebook Award winner) as well as art director, UI/UX designer and architect on Hollow (2013 Peabody Award winner and News & Documentary EMMY nominee).

Christine J. Walley is a Professor of Anthropology at MIT. She is the award-winning author of Exit Zero: Family and Class in Post-Industrial Chicago (University of Chicago Press, 2013) and a co-creator of a documentary film Exit Zero: An Industrial Family Story (2017).

Chris Boebel is Director of Media Development at MIT Open Learning, where he oversees media production for professional education and explores the uses of media in education, including VR and interactive media. A filmmaker by training, he has produced and directed feature films, documentaries, and television. His work has been shown on many networks around the world, including PBS and the BBC, and at more than 50 film festivals, including Sundance.

Presenters include creative director and i-doc pioneer Jeff Soyk and the project directors, anthropologist Chris Walley and filmmaker Chris Boebel.

11/16/2020

Join us live, Thursday at 5pm EST: Mauricio Cordero brings us “BORDERx: A Crisis In Graphic Detail” — an overview of his comics anthology of 70 contributors examining the U.S./Mexico border crisis

BORDERx: A Crisis In Graphic Detail is a comic anthology that examines the border crisis from a variety of points of view and narrative formats.

11/14/2020

The Mahindra Humanities Center at Harvard is about to host some CMS all-stars on Wednesday! "Play, Civic Identity and Civic Lives" will feature Creative Director Scot Osterweil, alum Sangita Shresthova, and visiting professor Eric Gordon:

LUDICS SPEAKERS: SCOT OSTERWEIL, MIT; SANGITA SHRESTHOVA, USC MODERATOR: ERIC GORDON, MIT

11/13/2020

Miss last night's talk with Adam Charles Hart? We've posted the video and transcript! Enjoy “Beyond the Living Dead: Treasures from the George A. Romero Archive”

"The largest and most revelatory component of the archive is the hundreds of projects that George A. Romero never got to make."