Established in 1999–2000, the program in Comparative Media Studies integrates the study of contemporary media (film, television, digital systems) with a broad historical understanding of older forms of human expression. The program embraces theoretical and interpretive principles drawn from the central humanistic disciplines of literary study, history, anthropology, art history, and film studies, but aims as well for a comparative synthesis that is responsive to the distinctive emerging media culture of the 21st century. Students explore the complexity of the media environment by learning to think across media, to see beyond the boundaries imposed by older medium-specific approaches to the study of audio-visual and literary forms.
The comparative and cross-disciplinary nature of both the graduate and undergraduate programs is embodied in a faculty drawn from Art and Architecture; Anthropology; Foreign Languages and Literatures; History; Literature; Music and Theater Arts; Philosophy; Writing and Humanistic Studies; Science, Technology, and Society; Media Arts and Sciences; Political Science; and Urban Studies and Planning.
The undergraduate program—established in 1982 under its former name, Film and Media Studies—serves as preparation for advanced study in a range of scholarly and professional disciplines and also for careers in media or industry.
The SB in Comparative Media Studies requires 10 subjects. Majors are required to take 21L.011, CMS.100, one mid-tier subject, one capstone subject, and six electives. A pre-thesis tutorial (CMS.ThT) and thesis (CMS.ThU) may be substituted for one elective.
The minor requires six subjects that reflect the comparative study of media, including 21L.011 or CMS.100, one mid-tier subject, one capstone subject, and three electives. Each student designs his or her own plan of study in consultation with a field advisor.
The HASS Concentration component consists of four subjects that reflect the comparative study of media. Each concentrator designs his or her own plan of study in consultation with a field advisor.
The joint degree programs (21E or 21S) require eight CMS subjects, plus six subjects in an engineering or science major. Students are required to take 21L.011 or CMS.100; one mid-tier subject; one capstone subject; and five CMS electives. A pre-thesis tutorial (CMS.THT) and thesis (CMS.THU) may be substituted for one CMS elective. Students must obtain approval for their course selection from an advisor in their engineering or science field, and must also file a petition with the Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement. See joint degree programs under the Department of Humanities section.
The graduate program comprises a two-year course of study leading to a Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies. The program aims to prepare students for careers in fields such as journalism, teaching and research, government or public service, museum work, information science, corporate consulting, media industry marketing and management, and educational technology.
CMS graduate students usually take three 12-unit subjects per term, plus a 3-unit colloquium. All students take three introductory seminars (Media Theories and Methods I and II, and Major Media Texts) during their first year, as well as two terms of Workshop, a subject that offers hands-on experience in media. In their final term they take a 24-unit subject devoted to completing the master's thesis, plus the 3-unit Colloquium in Comparative Media. Typically, students will graduate with a total of 144 units; however a minimum of 139 units is required for the master's degree in order to accommodate some electives that are 9-unit instead of 12-unit subjects.
Students may enter the program with a degree from a wide range of undergraduate majors, including the liberal arts, the social sciences, journalism, computer science, and management.
Graduate subjects include:
Required Subjects
| CMS.790 | Media Theories and Methods I | |
| CMS.791 | Media Theories and Methods II | |
| CMS.796 | Major Media Texts | |
| CMS.801 | Media in Transition | |
| CMS.950 | Workshop I | |
| CMS.951 | Workshop II | |
| CMS.980 | Master's Thesis | |
| CMS.990 | Colloquium in Comparative Media |
Electives
| CMS.809 | Transmedia Storytelling: Modern Science Fiction | |
| CMS.810 | The Nature of Creativity | |
| CMS.811 | Introduction to Philosophy of the Arts | |
| CMS.812 | Topics in National and Post-National Cinema | |
| CMS.813 | Silent Film | |
| CMS.814 | Phantasmal Media: Theory and Practice | |
| CMS.815 | Games for Social Change | |
| CMS.820 | Philosophy of Film | |
| CMS.821 | Fans and Fan Cultures | |
| CMS.827 | Imagination, Computation, and Expression Studio | |
| CMS.828 | Advanced Identity Representation | |
| CMS.830 | Studies in Film | |
| CMS.831 | Systems Visualization | |
| CMS.836 | The Social Documentary: Analysis and Production | |
| CMS.837 | Film, Music, and Social Change: Intersections of Media and Society | |
| CMS.838 | Innovation in Documentary: Technologies and Techniques | |
| CMS.840 | Literature and Film | |
| CMS.841 | Introduction to Videogame Theory | |
| CMS.843 | The Role of the Gamer: Theory, Criticism, and Practice | |
| CMS.845 | Interactive and Non-linear Narrative: Theory and Practice | |
| CMS.846 | The Word Made Digital | |
| CMS.860 | Introduction to Civic Media | |
| CMS.861 | Networked Social Movements: Media and Mobilization | |
| CMS.862 | Civic Media Collaborative Design Studio | |
| CMS.863 | Computer Games and Simulations for Investigation and Education | |
| CMS.864 | Game Design | |
| CMS.866 | Writing for Videogames | |
| CMS.867 | Identity and the Internet | |
| CMS.868 | Social and Cultural Facets of Digital Games | |
| CMS.871 | Media in Cultural Context | |
| CMS.876 | History of Media and Technology | |
| CMS.880 | From Print to Digital: Technologies of the Word, 1450-Present | |
| CMS.888 | Advertising and Popular Culture: East Asian Perspectives | |
| CMS.901 | Behind the Headlines: Current Debates in Media | |
| CMS.915 | Understanding Television | |
| CMS.920 | Popular Culture and Narrative | |
| CMS.922 | Media Industries and Systems | |
| CMS.925 | Film Music | |
| CMS.935 | Documentary Photography and Photojournalism: Still Images of a World in Motion | |
| CMS.992 | Portfolio in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.993 | Teaching in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.994–CMS.995 | Independent Study |
Graduate subjects in comparative media studies are described in the online MIT Subject Listing & Schedule, http://student.mit.edu/catalog/index.cgi.
For more information on the undergraduate and graduate programs in Comparative Media Studies, contact the CMS Office, Room E15-331, 617-253-3599, fax 617-258-5133, cms@mit.edu.
Junot Díaz, MFA
Professor of Writing
Peter Donaldson, PhD
Ford Foundation Professor in the Humanities
Mary Fuller, PhD
Professor of Literature
Elizabeth Garrels, PhD
Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies
Stefan G. Helmreich, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
Diana Henderson, PhD
Professor of Literature
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Alvin Charles Kibel, PhD
Professor of Literature
James Paradis, PhD
Robert M. Metcalfe Professor of Writing
Director, Comparative Media Studies Program
Jeffrey S. Ravel, PhD
Professor of History
Irving Singer, PhD
Professor of Philosophy
(On leave)
David Thorburn, PhD
Professor of Literature
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Director, MIT Communications Forum
William Uricchio, PhD
Professor of Comparative Media Studies
Director, Comparative Media Studies Program
(On leave)
Jing Wang, PhD
Professor of Chinese Cultural Studies
S. C. Fang Professor of Chinese Language and Culture
Christopher Capozzola, PhD
Associate Professor of History
Acting Associate Dean, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Ian Condry, PhD
Mitsui Career Development Associate Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies
Douglas A. (Fox) Harrell, Jr., PhD
Associate Professor of Digital Media
Heather Hendershot, PhD
Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies
Eric Klopfer, PhD
Associate Professor of Education
Director, Teacher Education Program
Nick Montfort, PhD
Associate Professor of Digital Media
Jay Scheib, MFA
Associate Professor of Theater Arts
Natasha Dow Schüll, PhD
Associate Professor of Science, Technology, and Society
T. L. Taylor, PhD
Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies
(On leave, fall)
Christine J. Walley, PhD
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Vivek Bald, PhD
Assistant Professor of Writing and Digital Media
Eugenie A. Brinkema, PhD
Assistant Professor of Contemporary Literature and Media
(On leave)
Sasha Costanza-Chock, PhD
Assistant Professor of Comparative Media Studies
Graham M. Jones, PhD
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Bruno Perrault, PhD
Assistant Professor of French Studies
Hanna Rose Shell, PhD
Assistant Professor of Science, Technology, and Society
Edward Barrett, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Writing
Ellen Crocker, MA
Senior Lecturer in German
Wyn Kelley, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Literature
Martin Marks, PhD
Senior Lecturer in Music
M. Flourish Klink, SM
Lecturer in Comparative Media Studies
Andrea Walsh, PhD
Lecturer in Writing and Humanistic Studies
Christopher Weaver, CAS
Visiting Lecturer in Comparative Media Studies
Amaranth Borsuk, PhD
Hye Jean Chung, PhD
Clara Fernandez Vara, PhD
Leonardo Giusti, PhD
Todd Harper, PhD
Konstantin Mitgutsch, PhD
Federico Casalegno, PhD
Kurt Fendt, PhD
Scot Osterweil, BA
Philip Tan, MS
Anamik Saha, PhD