Media Arts and Culture

This first half of a two-semester survey spans the appearance of print media to the development of early cinema, and reflects the interdisciplinary and evolving nature of media studies. Topics include the major theories of media and technology, the historical context in which each medium has appeared, and the schools of thought that have shaped people’s understanding of media and guided the analysis of media texts.

Credits: 4

This second half of a two-semester survey spans the development of classical cinema to the burgeoning of new media environments, and reflects the interdisciplinary and evolving nature of media studies. Topics include the major theories of media and technology, the historical context in which each medium has appeared, and the schools of thought that have shaped people’s understanding of media and guided the analysis of media texts.

Credits: 4

Designed to introduce graduate students to the fundamental methods and issues that arise in teaching media arts and media studies. The class explores the most contemporary methods in media pedagogy and media practices with the goal of preparing students to design their own courses in media arts and media studies.

Credits: 3

Traces the steps entailed in making media art that responds to real-world situations, paying close attention to the complex, evolving relationship between situation and media forms. Students explore how makers can combine ethnography, design methods, and creative communication tactics to generate situations of ethical aesthetic reflection and potential social change.

Credits: 4

The first half of a two-semester sequence designed to foster the growth of media artists through a model of teacher-led, peer-based learning that spans several parallel activities: critique, discussion, collaboration, and engagement with media art practitioners and the world of media art.

Credits: 4

The second half of a two-semester sequence designed to foster the growth of media artists through a model of teacher-led, peer-based learning that spans several parallel activities: critique, discussion, collaboration, and engagement with media art practitioners and the world of media art.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: MAC5050

Technology as a means to extend human sensory perception—from older mediums such as early photography, film, and sound recording to more recent developments in digital media and representation—is covered in detail. Major concepts include issues of tactility, affect, and materialization, as well as the role of sense and perception as it relates to the commodification of everyday life.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: MAC5010 And MAC5020

Students examine Critical Pedagogy and its relationship to art. From Joseph Beuys to more recent examples, artists have been making schools to radically expand the definition of art and for other political purposes. We will discuss why and collaborate on several “school forms” of our own to take place on campus and off.

Credits: 3

The first in a three-course sequence focused on the centrality of critique for the development of any creative practice. A critical model is developed that relies on both individual voices and collaborative process. Students hone and exercise their critical voice by learning to situate their practice historically and socially. All students participate in the thoughtful assessment of their classmates’ work and benefit from critiques by invited professionals and by organized visits to contemporary artists working in New York City.

Credits: 3

The second in a three-course sequence focused on the centrality of critique for the development of any creative practice. A critical model is developed that relies on both individual voices and collaborative process. Students hone and exercise their critical voice by learning to situate their practice historically and socially. All students participate in the thoughtful assessment of their classmates’ work and benefit from critiques by invited professionals and by organized visits to contemporary artists working in New York City.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: MAC5100

The third in a three-course sequence focused on the centrality of critique for the development of any creative practice. A critical model is developed that relies on both individual voices and collaborative process. Students hone and exercise their critical voice by learning to situate their practice historically and socially. All students participate in the thoughtful assessment of their classmates’ work and benefit from critiques by invited professionals and by organized visits to contemporary artists working in New York City.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: MAC5100 And MAC5105

First part of a two-semester sequence. Students produce a work of media art and a scholarly contextualization of their work within the contemporary field. Students work under the direction of a faculty member to create a work of media art and to master the relevant literature, demonstrating a significant contribution to the field of media arts.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: MAC5010 And MAC5020

Second part of a two-semester sequence. Students produce a work of media art and a scholarly contextualization of their work within the contemporary field. Students work under the direction of a faculty member to create a work of media art and to master the relevant literature, demonstrating a significant contribution to the field of media arts.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: MAC5990