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 ten subjects. Majors are required to take 21L.011 and 21L.015; CMS.400; one capstone subject; one additional CI-M subject; and five electives. It is strongly recommended that students take a project-based subject that includes a substantial hands-on component as one of their electives.
The minor program requires six subjects that reflect the comparative study of media, including 21L.011 or 21L.015; CMS.400; and four electives, including at least one chosen from the Special Topics subjects. Each minor designs his or her own plan of study in consultation with a field advisor.
The HASS Concentration requirement consists of four subjects that reflect the comparative study of media. Students are strongly encouraged to take at least one project-based subject to complete a concentration. Each concentrator designs his or her own plan of study in consultation with a field advisor.
The joint major requires eight elective subjects (including 21L.011 or 21L.015), CMS.400, one capstone subject (21L.706 or 21L.715) and one additional project-based subject, or seven elective subjects (including 21L.011 or 21L.015; CMS.400; and at least two seminar-level subjects), plus a pre-thesis tutorial and a thesis.
Undergraduate subjects include:
Required Subjects
| 21L.011 | The Film Experience | |
| 21L.015 | Introduction to Media Studies | |
| CMS.400 | Media Systems and Texts |
Capstone Subjects
One of the following is required.
| 21L.706 | Studies in Film | |
| 21L.715 | Media in Cultural Context |
CI-M Requirements
In addition to the capstone subject, one of the following
courses, which
can include a second capstone course, will
fulfill the CI-M requirement.
| 21L.706 | Studies in Film | |
| 21L.708 | Literature and Technology | |
| 21L.715 | Media in Cultural Context | |
| 21W.785 | Communicating in Cyberspace |
Restricted Electives
| CMS.600 | Topics in Comparative Media Studies | |
| CMS.601 | Topics in Comparative Media Studies | |
| CMS.602 | Topics in Comparative Media Studies | |
| 4.341 | Introduction to Photography and Related Media | |
| 4.351 | Introduction to Video | |
| 4.602 | Modern Art and Mass Culture | |
| 21A.336 | Marketing, Microchips, and McDonalds, Debating Globalization | |
| 21A.337 | Documenting Culture | |
| 21A.340J | Technology and Culture | |
| 21A.348 | Photography and Truth | |
| 21A.350J | The Anthropology of Computing | |
| 21A.360 | The Anthropology of Sound | |
| 21F.011 | Topics in Indian Popular Culture | |
| 21F.027J | Visualizing Cultures | |
| 21F.030 | East Asian Culture: From Zen to Pop | |
| 21F.035 | Topics in Culture and Globalization | |
| 21F.036 | Advertising and Popular Culture: East Asian Perspectives | |
| 21F.046 | Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema | |
| 21F.052 | French Film Classics | |
| 21F.056 | Visual Histories: German Cinema 1945 to Present | |
| 21F.065 | Japanese Literature and Cinema | |
| 21F.067J | Cultural Performances of Asia | |
| 21F.341 | Contemporary French Film and Social Issues | |
| 21H.206 | American Consumer Culture | |
| 21H.577J/ CMS.882J |
Film, Fiction, and History in India, 1905–2005 | |
| 21H.546 | World War II in Asia: Film, Fantasy, Fact | |
| 21L.012 | Forms of Western Narrative | |
| 21L.421 | Comedy | |
| 21L.430 | Popular Narrative* | |
| 21L.432 | Understanding Television | |
| 21L.433 | Film Styles and Genres | |
| 21L.434 | Science Fiction and Fantasy | |
| 21L.435 | Literature and Film | |
| 21L.486 | Modern Drama | |
| 21L.489J/ 21W.765J |
Interactive and Non-linear Narrative: Theory and Practice | |
| 21M.283 | Musicals of Screen and Stage | |
| 21M.284 | Film Music | |
| 21M.775 | Hip-Hop | |
| 21M.846 | Topics in Performance Studies | |
| 21W.749 | Documentary Photography and Photojournalism: Still Images of a World in Motion | |
| 21W.784 | Becoming Digital: Writing about Media Change | |
| 21W.785 | Communicating in Cyberspace | |
| 24.209 | Philosophy in Film and Other Media | |
| 24.213 | Philosophy of Film | |
| 24.263 | The Nature of Creativity | |
| MAS.450 | Holographic Imaging | |
| STS.085 | Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier |
*when topic is applicable
Project-Based Subjects in Comparative Media Studies
The following are considered to be advanced-level subjects
in Comparative Media Studies.
| CMS.610 | Media Industries and Systems | |
| CMS.THT | Pre-Thesis in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.THU | Undergraduate Thesis in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.UR/URG | Research in Comparative Media Studies | |
| 4.352 | Advanced Video | |
| 4.366 | Advanced Projects in Visual Arts* | |
| 11.127 | Computer Modeling for Investigation and Education | |
| 21H.418 | From Print to Digital: Technologies of the Word, 1450–Present | |
| 21L.706 | Studies in Film | |
| 21L.707 | Problems in Cultural Interpretation* | |
| 21L.708 | Literature and Technology | |
| MAS.849 | Special Topics in Multimedia Production | |
| 21W.722 | Advanced Workshop in Digital Poetry |
*when topic is applicable
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.
Students normally take three subjects per semester, for a total of 12 subjects. All students take three introductory seminars (Media Theories and Methods I and II, and Major Media Texts) during their first year, as well as CMS.950, a workshop subject that offers hands-on experience in media. Elective subjects are drawn from three categories: theory and criticism; history, society, politics; and case studies. The required thesis may take a variety of forms, including traditional expository prose, but students are encouraged to choose projects that exploit other appropriate media.
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.830 | Studies in Film | |
| CMS.835 | Photography and Truth | |
| CMS.840 | Literature and Film | |
| CMS.845 | Interactive and Non-linear Narrative: Theory and Practice | |
| CMS.851 | Feeling and Imagination in Art, Science, and Technology | |
| CMS.710 | Anthropology of Sound | |
| CMS.871 | Media in Cultural Context | |
| CMS.874 | Visualizing Cultures | |
| CMS.876 | History of Media and Technology | |
| 21H.418 | From Print to Digital: Technologies of the Word, 1450–Present | |
| CMS.882J | Film, Fiction, and History in India, 1905–2005 | |
| CMS.888 | Advertising and Popular Culture: East Asian Perspectives | |
| CMS.810 | The Nature of Creativity | |
| CMS.820 | Philosophy of Film | |
| CMS.910 | Literature and Technology | |
| CMS.915 | Understanding Television | |
| CMS.917 | Documenting Culture | |
| CMS.920 | Popular 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.965 | Videogame Theory and Analysis | |
| CMS.992 | Portfolio in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.993 | Teaching in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.994 | Topics in Comparative Media Studies | |
| CMS.995 | Research in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.997 | Topics in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.998 | Topics in Comparative Media | |
| CMS.999 | Topics in Comparative Media |
For detailed descriptions of graduate subjects in comparative media studies, see CMS.790–CMS.999 in Part 3.
For more information on the undergraduate and graduate programs in Comparative Media Studies, contact the CMS Office, Room 14N-207, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139; 617-253-3599; fax 617-258-5133; cms@mit.edu.
Henry Jenkins III, PhD
Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities
Professor of Comparative Media Studies and Literature
William Uricchio, PhD
Professor of Comparative Media Studies
James Buzard, PhD
Professor of Literature
Section Head, Literature
James Paradis, PhD
Robert M. Metcalfe Professor of Writing
Program Head, Writing and Humanistic Studies
Janet Sonenberg, MFA
Professor of Theater Arts
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Section Head, Music and Theater Arts
Jing Wang, PhD
S. C. Fang Professor of Chinese Language and Culture
Section Head, Foreign Languages and Literatures
Beth Coleman, PhD
Assistant Professor of Writing and New Media
Nick Montfort, PhD
Assistant Professor of Digital Media
Philip Tan, MS
Stacey Schulman, MA
Chris Weaver, MS
Frank Espinosa, BA
Joshua Green, PhD
Scot Osterweil, BA
Alice Robison, PhD
*The Comparative Media Studies program is jointly administered by three Humanities sections: Literature, Foreign Languages and Literatures, and Writing and Humanistic Studies. Though the program has no direct appointments, more than thirty faculty members from across the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences regularly teach in the program.