MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2014 Activities by Sponsor - Comparative Media Studies/Writing

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A Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates about Reading, Writing, and Libraries

Patsy Baudoin

Jan/13 Mon 11:00AM-12:00PM 14E-304

Enrollment: Sign up w/Patsy Baudoin at patsy@mit.edu
Sign-up by 01/13
Limited to 25 participants

Join Ta-Nehisi Coates for a conversation about reading, writing, and libraries. He's senior editor at The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues. He's also the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle (2009). Curious beforehand? Check out: http://www.theatlantic.com/ta-nehisi-coates. He’ll be teaching writing again at MIT in spring 2014. 

With the support of the Committee on the Promotion of Diversity and Inclusion of the MIT Libraries

Sponsor(s): Libraries, Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Patsy Baudoin, patsy@mit.edu


Best of the 2013 European Short Film Festival at MIT

Kurt Fendt

Jan/29 Wed 07:00PM-09:00PM 6-120

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Watch a rarely seen selection of the best European short films from MIT's 2013 European Short Film Festival. These films give you a glimpse into contemporary short film productions from European film schools, young and established independent filmmakers, and European festivals. 12 films - many of them US premiers - that reflect the most compelling fiction, animation, documentary and experimental film from the 3-day festival in October 2013. A brief introduction will precede the screening.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Gabriella Horvath, 617-715-4480, ghorvath@mit.edu


Big Data-In-Time Critical Circumstances: The Philippines Relief Effort as a Case Study for Journalists and Responders

Tom Levenson, Director, Graduate Program in Science Writing

Jan/27 Mon 12:00PM-02:00PM 8-119, Lunch will be served
Jan/29 Wed 12:00PM-02:00PM 8-119, Lunch will be served

Enrollment: Advance registration plus walk-in as space permits
Limited to 12 participants
Attendance: Participants are strongly encouraged to attend both sessons.

The Typhoon Haiyan disaster provides a major application of Big Data to disaster relief.  This seminar will look at issues raised by a Big Data approach for both aid workers and journalists covering rapidly moving events. They are: 1) Where and how to get your data.  2) How do you use which tools to construct questions and run calculations robustly and resiliently under the pressure of time?  3) Following analysis, how do you visualize your data to support real action on the ground and to find stories to be reported and told?

Instructors:  Dr. Steve Chan (Research Fellow, CMS/W and CTO, E-Lab, MIT and co-director Network Science Research Laboratory, IBM), Wesley Rhodes (director, Network Science Research Laboratory, IBM), Andrea Johns

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Tom Levenson, Levenson@mit.edu


From Assignment to Revision: How Instruction and Feedback Shape Student Writing

Suzanne Lane, Senior Lecturer, CMS/W and Director of WAC

Jan/28 Tue 10:00AM-12:00PM 12-134

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

What kind of instruction and feedback will help students understand how to write and revise their assignments, to hone and develop their ideas, or to understand central concepts about effective communication? This workshop will draw on composition research to explore the range of instruction and responding practices, from rubrics to peer review to individual conferences, and when each is effective. By considering feedback in relation to other forms of instruction, participants will learn to provide the kinds of comments and strategies that will help students understand how to improve both their specific texts and their abilities as writers.

All Writing Across the Curriculum workshops are open to faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in integrating writing and speaking into their subjects.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Writing and Humanistic Studies, Writing and Communication Center
Contact: Alexandra Sear, 12-117, 617-253-0650, sear@mit.edu


Global Game Jam 2014 at MIT

Rik Eberhardt, Studio Manager - MIT Game Lab

Enrollment: advance sign-up via http://mitgamelab-ggj2014.eventbrite.com
Limited to 50 participants
Attendance: Must attend entire event (not necessarily all hours)
Fee: $17.00 for non-MIT students, free for MIT

The Global Game Jam is the world’s largest game jam event taking place around the world at physical locations, a 48-hour a hackathon focused on game development. The weekend stirs a global creative buzz in games, while at the same time exploring the process of development, be it programming, iterative design, narrative exploration or artistic expression. People with all kinds of backgrounds are welcome to participate and contribute to this global spread of game development and creativity. Make games with us!

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Rik Eberhardt, 617-324-2173, reberhar@mit.edu


Jan/24 Fri 05:00PM-12:00AM 32-123
Jan/25 Sat 09:00AM-12:00AM 26-204, etc
Jan/26 Sun 09:00AM-06:00PM 26-204, etc

Rik Eberhardt - Studio Manager - MIT Game Lab


In-Class Debates: Another Option for an Oral Communication Assignment

Edward Schiappa, Professor and Interim Head of CMS/W

Jan/30 Thu 10:00AM-12:00PM 12-134

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

This workshop will cover the basics of putting together assignments involving in-class debates.  Specific issues covered include the mechanics of how to word good debate topics, set time limits, and structure debate formats, as well as how to teach the basic skills that students will need to acquire in order to participate in debates.

All Writing Across the Curriculum workshops are open to faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in integrating writing and speaking into their subjects.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Writing and Humanistic Studies, Writing and Communication Center
Contact: Alexandra Sear, 12-117, 617-253-0650, sear@mit.edu


LineStorm Animation Digital FlipBook

Pell Osborn

Jan/08 Wed 04:30PM-06:30PM 56-167
Jan/15 Wed 04:30PM-06:30PM 56-167
Jan/22 Wed 04:30PM-06:30PM 56-167
Jan/29 Wed 04:30PM-06:30PM 56-169

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 10 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

LineStorm Animation Digital FlipBook classes rekindle the thrill of discovery in the basics of animation. We examine the moment in time and space when animation happens – when one image changes into the next. As we build a group hand-drawn animation project, we will cover three fundamental phases of animation: (1) the intellectual phase, when animators consider the range of possibilities in developing frame-by-frame visual sequences; (2) the practical production phase, when animators create their imagery; (3) the wrap-up phase, when animators wrestle with timelines, pipelines and deadlines, to complete the project. We’ll work through hands-on exercises to explore a wide array of animation tools and skills. Led by award-winning animator Pell Osborn and developed with the MIT Student Art Association, The LineStorm Animation Digital FlipBook Seminar is called by Harvard University’s Project Zero, “The best example of project-based learning we’ve ever seen!”

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Pell Osborn, posborn@motionart.org


Media and Ethics

Mine Gencel Bek, Visiting Fulbright Professor

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Sign-up and continuous attendance appreciated but not required

Seminar focusing on media and ethics will cover the most prominent issues such as the philosophical foundations, theoretical approaches and journalistic guidelines. Each session will consist of 50 minutes of presentation, followed by discussion. In the final session, participants will have the opportunity to present their own case studies.

Taught by Visiting Fulbright Professor Mine Gencel Bek, professor at the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Communication, Ankara University. Her publications cover a wide range of issues: the political economy of Turkish media; the media policies in the European Union and Turkey; media professionals and textual analysis of news in press and TV on issues such as tabloidization and representation of women and children. Common to all of her work is criticism of unethical practices of irresponsible media and the call for the democratization of societies for freedom and equality, and the democratization of the media, with a special focus on journalism.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Rebecca Shepardson, BSHEP@MIT.EDU


Jan/08 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM 4-144

Philosophical foundations of ethics and communication ethics


Jan/15 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM 4-144

Journalism ethics: Theoretical approaches (classical, dialogical and social responsibility)


Jan/22 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM 4-144

Journalism guidelines.  Peace journalism and ethics.


Jan/29 Wed 02:00PM-04:00PM 4-144

Presentation and discussion of case studies of participants


Participatory and Interactive Documentary Workshop, Taught by Emmy Award Winning Pioneer Kat Cizek

Katerina Cizek, Visiting Artist

Enrollment: Please submit the following form: http://goo.gl/6AanUQ
Limited to 21 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

Explore how technology enables new forms of storytelling and public engagement.
This 4 day workshop, intended for anyone with an interest in collaborative storytelling and innovative research methods, will cover participatory methods, social and digital tools, and best practices in cross-disciplinary approaches of digital documentary.

The workshop covers the basics of building media projects with partners that aim to change worldviews, lives, policies, conditions, and tell good stories too. In this highly interactive workshop, you’ll learn about proven methods, projects and experiences, and we’ll brainstorm your own ideas and projects to develop concrete strategic plans.

You’ll focus on:
Developing deep partnerships/collaborations
Reviewing the scope of what's possible in digital storytelling
Turning ideas into awesome projects
Identifying political and social goals
Understanding audiences and communities
Telling hyper-local documentary stories with universal appeal
Web-docs 101 - where to start
Creative financing and outreach
Sustainability

The mornings will feature lectures, screening and presentations: Visiting Artist Kat Cizek will share research findings and tool-kits around ethics and methodologies from over 8 years of practice, including the most recent project, a collaboration with the New York Times, “A Short History of the Highrise.” The afternoons feature structured break outs into small groups to discuss/develop your own ideas for collaborative projects.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Office of the Arts
Contact: Meg Rotzel, mrotzel@mit.edu


Morning Session

Jan/27 Mon 10:00AM-12:00PM E15-335
Jan/28 Tue 10:00AM-12:00PM E15-335
Jan/29 Wed 10:00AM-12:00PM E15-335
Jan/30 Thu 10:00AM-12:00PM E15-335

Katerina Cizek - Visiting Artist


Afternoon Breakout Session

Jan/27 Mon 02:00PM-05:00PM E15-335
Jan/28 Tue 02:00PM-05:00PM E15-335
Jan/29 Wed 02:00PM-05:00PM E15-335
Jan/30 Thu 02:00PM-05:00PM E15-335

Katerina Cizek - Visiting Artist


Polish Literature in the Digital Age

Piotr Marecki, dr.

Jan/21 Tue 06:00PM-07:30PM 14N-233

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none

Polish digital literature has a rich tradition to build on: from Polish experimental literature to avant-guarde filmmakers associated with Warsztat Formy Filmowej (Film Form Workshop) of the 1970s, including Bruszewski and the Oscar winner Rybczyński. Other precursor phenomena include Jan Potocki's “Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie”, interwar avant-garde and the work of concretist artists like Stanisław Dróżdż. Poland's contribution to the developement of world hyperfiction was the notion of sylwa (from the latin silva rerum), "a form more capacious”, very popular in XX century literature. The description of this form by Czesław Miłosz inspired Michael Joyce to write an essay on this subject. Polish digital literature develops alongside the phenomenon of liberature, which, since its beginnings in 1999, influences our understanding of the digital medium. A rather isolated position on the international scene and a separate, unique historical background contribute to the distinctiveness of Polish digital literature. The most important authors from this field (including Radosław Nowakowski, Robert Szczerbowski, Wojciech Bruszewski and Katarzyna Giełżyńska) will be presented during the lecture.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Piotr Marecki, 14N-233, MARECKI@MIT.EDU


Push Button Game Jam

Rik Eberhardt, Studio Manager - MIT Game Lab

Jan/11 Sat 10:00AM-12:00AM 32-124

Enrollment: advance sign-up via mitgamelab-iap2014.eventbrite.com

The MIT Game Lab is spending January obsessed with arcade games! This one-day game jam is the official start time for a month-long game development session to create games that will be playable at arcade cabinets in the MIT Museum and MIT's Comparative Media Studies | Writing department. Students who attend will form teams and create design and technical prototypes that will eventually become full fledged games by the end of the month.

Students are expected to attend from attend from 10am until 6pm. (6pm - midnight is an optional work session).

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Game Lab
Contact: Rik Eberhardt, 617-324-2173, reberhar@mit.edu


Push Button: Examining Culture, Platform, and Design of the Arcade

Rik Eberhardt, Studio Manager - MIT Game Lab

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Limited to 30 participants
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

The MIT Game Lab is spending January obsessed with arcade games!

A 1-week lecture and workshop series kicks off a month-long game jam to create games for arcade cabinets installed at the MIT Museum and in the faculty offices of MIT's Comparative Media Studies | Writing department. This lecture series will examine the culture of the Arcade, the relationship between software and hardware design and the creative work produced for arcade machines, and how to design short, moment-based gameplay. A workshop follows each lecture to put these ideas into practice.

http://gamelab.mit.edu/pushbutton/

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Rik Eberhardt, 617-324-2173, reberhar@mit.edu


Jan/06 Mon 01:00PM-05:00PM 26-142

What's so special about the arcade?


Jan/07 Tue 01:00PM-05:00PM 26-142

A platform studies look at ports of arcade games to other platforms.


Jan/08 Wed 01:00PM-05:00PM 26-142

The story of Ms Pac-Man (featuring one of the creators, Steve Golson)


Jan/09 Thu 01:00PM-05:00PM 26-142

Moment-based Design (guest lecture from Seth Sivak, CEO of Proletariat Games)


Jan/10 Fri 01:00PM-05:00PM 26-142

Aesthetics of the Arcade


Surveillance in Cultural Context: seven films

Jim Paradis, Professor of Comparative Media Studies and Writing

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Explore the culture of surveillance in modern society in a series of brilliant films about surveillance and modernity.  Brief introductions and after-viewing discussions explore the rise of surveillance in the framework of shifting media regimes.  Light snacks will be served.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Jim Paradis, jparadis@mit.edu


Minority Report

Jan/07 Tue 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

Futuristic sci-fi film of crime detection in a PreCrime Department (Tom Cruise) that apprehends criminals before they commit crimes. (2002), directed by Steven Spielberg (145 min)


M

Jan/14 Tue 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

Pursuit of a compulsive child killer (Peter Lorre) in pre-WWII Berlin in a growing web of police, neighborhood, and underworld surveillance practices concludes with an injunction to "keep closer watch over the children." (1931), directed by Fritz Lang (111 min)


The Lives of Others

Jan/16 Thu 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

East German Stasi officer (Ulrich Muhne) oversees the surveillance of a state-approved playwright's East Berlin apartment and becomes emotionally entangled with his subject in a milieu in which everyone monitors everyone. (2006), directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmark (138 min)


Rear Window

Jan/21 Tue 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

Professional photographer (James Stewart), incapacitated with an injury, passes the time monitoring neighbors with binoculars during a summer heatwave and stumbles on what seems to be a murder scene in a milieu of suspicious neighbors. (1954), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, (112 min)


The Conversation

Jan/23 Thu 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

Surveillance expert (Gene Hackman) descends into a informational hall of mirrors, as he misinterprets a conversation and unwittingly sets the stage for a murder. (1974), directed by Francis Ford Coppola (113 min)


Enemy of the State

Jan/28 Tue 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

Out of control NSA agents engage in political assassination, which is inadvertently recorded and then followed by a surveillance/counter surveillance extravaganza that entangles a lawyer (Will Smith) whose identity and reputation are destroyed. (1998), directed by Tony Scott (132 min)


We are Legion

Jan/30 Thu 06:00PM-08:30PM 56-114

Documentary exploration of the hacktavist culture of Anonymous and its modeling of surveillance and action by the many against organizations and state-supported institutions. (2012), directed by Brian Knappenberger (93 min)


Thinking and Talking: Oral Communication in the Classroom

Andreas Karatsolis, Lecturer, CMS/W and Associate Director of WAC

Jan/29 Wed 10:00AM-12:00PM 12-134

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

This workshop will examine the rich variety of forms that classroom oral presentations can take, both as a way to scaffold thinking and as a way to assess students’ conceptual understanding. Workshop participants will be able to work on (re)designing assignments for their current or future courses by developing (i) a deeper understanding of fundamental oral communication concepts, (ii) strategies to integrate oral communication assignments into a class, and (iii) techniques and tools to provide feedback on student presentations.

All Writing Across the Curriculum workshops are open to faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in integrating writing and speaking into their subjects.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Writing and Humanistic Studies, Writing and Communication Center
Contact: Alexandra Sear, 12-117, 617-253-0650, sear@mit.edu


Visual Literacy: Strategies for Incorporating Classroom Critical Thinking in the Visual Representation of Research

Felice Frankel, Research Scientist, Ctr. for Materials Science & Engineering

Jan/27 Mon 10:00AM-12:00PM 12-134

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

This workshop will include a presentation and hands-on exercises addressing the too often ignored component of communication: the visual expression of data and concepts. Just as in writing text, creating visual representations is not only a means of communication but also a process that itself advances and clarifies thinking.

All Writing Across the Curriculum workshops are open to faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in integrating writing and speaking into their subjects.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Writing and Humanistic Studies, Writing and Communication Center
Contact: Alexandra Sear, 12-117, 617-253-0650, sear@mit.edu


Writing in Digital Margins - Annotation Studio Workshop

Kurt Fendt, Executive Director MIT HyperStudio

Jan/28 Tue 01:00PM-05:00PM E51-095

Enrollment: Please Register Here: http://goo.gl/diyD6O
Sign-up by 01/25
Limited to 20 participants

Writing one’s thoughts, comments, or associations into the margins of books is a familiar, centuries-old practice. Now that more and more texts are read in digital form, what happens to these notes in the margins? Can we preserve this practice, or even better, can we enhance it with the affordances of digital technology?

Annotation Studio, an easy-to-use web application for education, engages students in close reading through annotation, allows them to add multimedia links to comments in order to cite sources, variations, or adaptations, and to share annotations with fellow students.

In this hands-on workshop you'll learn how to create, tag, link, and share annotations, how you can integrate digital text annotation in your teaching, or - if you are interested in the development or deployment aspects - how the underlying open-source technology opens up exciting possibilities for new functionality.

The workshop will include:
- Introduction to digital text annotation in education
- Hands-on session with Annotation Studio
- Panel discussion with instructors about classroom experiences with Annotation Studio

Break-out sessions will include:
- Classroom integration and creating assignments
- Reading and loading your own documents; creating, viewing and sharing annotations
- Introduction to the open source codebase for developers
- Administration, infrastructure and support

Please register to attend, and check the break-out session topics that interest you.

Sponsor(s): Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Contact: Gabriella Horvath, 617-715-4480, ghorvath@mit.edu