Colloquia and Forums
Colloquium Series
The CMS colloquium series is intended to provide an intimate and informal exchange between a visiting speaker and CMS faculty, students, visiting scholars and friends. Each week during the term, we host a figure from academia, industry, or the art world to speak about their work and its relation to our studies. These sessions are free, open to the public, and serve as an excellent introduction to our program.
We also record these and broadcast them to the world-at-large via our Podcast. You can also download the individual files by clicking the links from each entry.
Communications Forum
For more than 20 years the MIT Communications Forum has played a unique role at MIT and beyond as the host of important conversations about all aspects of communications, with special emphasis on emerging technologies. Leading academics, journalists, political figures, and corporate managers have appeared at its conferences and panels. The Forum continues its rich tradition of organizing quality public discourse as the programming division of CMS. If you'd like to receive e-mail updates, please register here.
Spring 2008 Colloquia Calendar
02.07.08 | 5-7 PM | 2-105
David Claerbout
David Claerbout's work in video projection foregrounds the presence of time for the viewer, bringing together the qualities of moving and still images in an often disquieting analogue to the practices of photography and painting. His approach uses the premises of film, photography and time in order to do away with their individual monopolies as in works such as Vietnam 1967, near Duc Pho (reconstruction after Hiromishi Mine) (2001) where the projection appears to be a still image, but is, in fact, almost imperceptibly moving. More recently he focuses on the effects of time, time in narration and time on the gaze of the viewer in works such as Bordeaux Piece (2004) and White House (2006) where the continuous repeating of a story suspends the rules of classical movie telling and the expectation of the viewer in order to give way to an almost physical sensation of time and nature.
Co-sponsored by the List Visual Arts Center
February 7, 2008 5-7pm - Colloquium: David Claerbout at 2-105
David Claerbout's work in video projection foregrounds the presence of time for the viewer, bringing together the qualities of moving and still images in an often disquieting analogue to the practices of photography and painting. His approach uses the premises of film, photography and time in order to do away with their individual monopolies as in works such as Vietnam 1967, near Duc Pho (reconstruction after Hiromishi Mine) (2001) where the projection appears to be a still image, but is, in fact, almost imperceptibly moving. More recently he focuses on the effects of time, time in narration and time on the gaze of the viewer in works such as Bordeaux Piece (2004) and White House (2006) where the continuous repeating of a story suspends the rules of classical movie telling and the expectation of the viewer in order to give way to an almost physical sensation of time and nature. Co-sponsored by the List Visual Arts Center.
02.14.08 | 5-7 PM | 2-105
Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and the Production Code Administration
Thomas Doherty
From 1934 to 1954 Joseph I. Breen, a media-savvy Victorian Irishman, reigned over the Production Code Administration, the Hollywood office tasked with censoring the American screen. Though little known outside the ranks of the studio system, this former journalist and public relations agent was one of the most powerful men in the motion picture industry. As enforcer of the puritanical Production Code, Breen dictated "final cut" over more movies than any other individual in the history of American cinema. His editorial decisions left a profound impact on the images and values projected by Hollywood during the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War.
Thomas Doherty is professor of American studies at Brandeis University. He serves on the editorial board of Cineaste and Cinema Journal and is film review editor for the Journal of American History. His previous books include Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture (2003) and Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934 (1999).
February 14, 2008 5-7pm - Colloquium: Hollywood's Censor- at 2-105
From 1934 to 1954 Joseph I. Breen, a media-savvy Victorian Irishman, reigned over the Production Code Administration, the Hollywood office tasked with censoring the American screen. Though little known outside the ranks of the studio system, this former journalist and public relations agent was one of the most powerful men in the motion picture industry. As enforcer of the puritanical Production Code, Breen dictated "final cut" over more movies than any other individual in the history of American cinema. His editorial decisions left a profound impact on the images and values projected by Hollywood during the Great Depression, World War II, and the Cold War. Thomas Doherty is professor of American studies at Brandeis University. He serves on the editorial board of Cineaste and Cinema Journal and is film review editor for the Journal of American History. His previous books include Cold War, Cool Medium: Television, McCarthyism, and American Culture (2003) and Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema, 1930-1934 (1999).
02.21.08 | 5-7 PM | 2-105
Viral Media: How's and Why's
Mike Rubenstein. Natalie Lent, Shenja van der Graaf
Non-traditional and viral marketing campaigns raise questions about the content status of advertising and the authenticity of commercial art. This panel discussion will consider the challenges of engaging audiences in non-conventional ways, looking at the status of viral media and the nature of non-traditional marketing campaigns. Berkman Center Fellow and C3 Consulting Researcher Shenja van der Graaf will moderate the converation with Natalie Lent from Fanscape and Mike Rubenstein of The Barbarian Group.
Co-sponsored by the Convergence Culture Consortium
February 21, 2008 5-7pm - Colloquium: Viral Media Hows and Whys- at 2-105
Non-traditional and viral marketing campaigns raise questions about the content status of advertising and the authenticity of commercial art. This panel discussion will consider the challenges of engaging audiences in non-conventional ways, looking at the status of viral media and the nature of non-traditional marketing campaigns. Berkman Center Fellow and C3 Consulting Researcher Shenja van der Graaf will moderate the converation with Natalie Lent from Fanscape and Mike Rubenstein of The Barbarian Group. Co-sponsored by the Convergence Culture Consortium.
02.28.08 | 5-7 PM | Stata Center TSMC Lobby and 32-155
CMS Research Fair 2008
CMS Research Groups
On February 28, CMS will hold our annual Research Fair, a chance to highlight our latest research and bring attention to new research staff and initiatives. In addition to displays in the Stata lobby, this year's event will include a panel discussion with current research staff, led by Henry Jenkins and William Uricchio. This discussion will consider the theoretical contributions of CMS research and the role each initiative plays in the CMS research culture. The Fair will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28th from 5-7 PM in the Stata Center TSMC lobby. The panel discussion will begin at 6 PM. Refreshments will be served.
February 21, 2008 5-7pm - CMS Research Fair 2008- at Stata Center TSMC Lobby and 32-155
On February 28, CMS will hold our annual Research Fair, a chance to highlight our latest research and bring attention to new research staff and initiatives. In addition to displays in the Stata lobby, this year's event will include a panel discussion with current research staff, led by Henry Jenkins and William Uricchio. This discussion will consider the theoretical contributions of CMS research and the role each initiative plays in the CMS research culture. The Fair will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28th from 5-7 PM in the Stata Center TSMC lobby. The panel discussion will begin at 6 PM. Refreshments will be served.
03.06.08 | 5-7 PM | Bartos Theater
Communications Forum:
Prime Time in Transition
John Romano
The prime-time series has been a central narrative form in America for the last half-century, as the Hollywood movie had been in a previous era. Are the radical transformations of television in recent years challenging this domination? How has series TV changed over the past 20 years? What does the prolonged writers' strike signify for the future of TV fiction and the medium as a whole? Leading writer-producer John Romano (Third Watch, Party of Five, Hill Street Blues) will address these and related questions in a candid conversation illustrated by clips from significant series.
March 6, 2008 5-7pm - Comm. Forum: Prime Time in Transition- at Bartos Theater
The prime-time series has been a central narrative form in America for the last half-century, as the Hollywood movie had been in a previous era. Are the radical transformations of television in recent years challenging this domination? How has series TV changed over the past 20 years? What does the prolonged writers' strike signify for the future of TV fiction and the medium as a whole? Leading writer-producer John Romano (Third Watch, Party of Five, Hill Street Blues) will address these and related questions in a candid conversation illustrated by clips from significant series.
03.13.08 | 5-7 PM | Bartos Theater
Communications Forum: Global Television
Eggo Müller, Roberta Pearson, William Uricchio
A salient feature of contemporary TV has been the appearance of programs that appeal more widely across national boundaries than many earlier television shows. Examples include a range of reality shows such as Big Brother or Survivor as well as fiction series such as Ugly Betty, which undergo relatively small facelifts before being introduced to new audiences. And many American programs – e.g., Lost, Desperate Housewives – travel abroad with no alterations, as country-specific promotion and distribution strategies adjust them to their new national contexts. In this forum, distinguished media scholars Eggo Müller, Roberta Pearson and William Uricchio will discuss the origins and significance of the international distribution of television formats and programs.
March 13, 2008 5-7pm - Comm. Forum: Global Television- at Bartos Theater
A salient feature of contemporary TV has been the appearance of programs that appeal more widely across national boundaries than many earlier television shows. Examples include a range of reality shows such as Big Brother or Survivor as well as fiction series such as Ugly Betty, which undergo relatively small facelifts before being introduced to new audiences. And many American programs - e.g., Lost, Desperate Housewives - travel abroad with no alterations, as country-specific promotion and distribution strategies adjust them to their new national contexts. In this forum, distinguished media scholars Eggo MŸller, Roberta Pearson and William Uricchio will discuss the origins and significance of the international distribution of television formats and programs.
03.20.08 | 5-7 PM | 2-105
Denis Dyack
Denis Dyack is the founder and president of Silicon Knights. In this capacity, he oversees the creation and development of games, and continues to further the growth of the company. Dyack is a noted authority on interactive software development and offers valuable insight into the process of designing next-generation games that appeal to the masses. Under Dyack's direction, Silicon Knights has evolved into one of the top independent interactive software developers in the world. Dyack (B. Phed, H. B.Sc, M. Sc.) founded Silicon Knights in 1992 after publishing Cyber Empires in 1991. Since that time, Silicon Knights has moved from creating PC games to premiere AAA console titles, such as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain for the original PlayStation. Working with Nintendo as a second party, Silicon Knights created the critically acclaimed Eternal Darkness. Together with Nintendo, Silicon Knights worked with Konami to create another critically acclaimed game, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. Dyack and his team are currently working with Microsoft on the Too Human trilogy for the Xbox 360, and developing an exciting new game for Sega of America.
Co-sponsored by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab
March 20, 2008 5-7pm - Colloquium: Denis Dyack- at 2-105
Denis Dyack is the founder and president of Silicon Knights. In this capacity, he oversees the creation and development of games, and continues to further the growth of the company. Dyack is a noted authority on interactive software development and offers valuable insight into the process of designing next-generation games that appeal to the masses. Under Dyack's direction, Silicon Knights has evolved into one of the top independent interactive software developers in the world. Dyack (B. Phed, H. B.Sc, M. Sc.) founded Silicon Knights in 1992 after publishing Cyber Empires in 1991. Since that time, Silicon Knights has moved from creating PC games to premiere AAA console titles, such as Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain for the original PlayStation. Working with Nintendo as a second party, Silicon Knights created the critically acclaimed Eternal Darkness. Together with Nintendo, Silicon Knights worked with Konami to create another critically acclaimed game, Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. Dyack and his team are currently working with Microsoft on the Too Human trilogy for the Xbox 360, and developing an exciting new game for Sega of America. Co-sponsored by the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab.
04.03.08 | 5-7 PM | 2-105
The Show Business High Wire Act:
Walking the Tightrope Between Studio Filmmaking and Independent Production
Gregory Anderson
In the year 2008, artists and businesspersons navigate the vast divide between the world of independent filmmaking and the Hollywood studio system as the lines between the two become increasingly more blurred. As pop culture integration – the fusing of music, sports, dance, event programming, reality, and other subcultures geared toward mainstream audiences while highlighting the genre demographic – has become the lifeline for both the artistic and commercial filmmaker, where do you find the happy medium, or is there one anymore? Writer, producer, distributor, and president of Tri Destined Films, Gregory Anderson has been called a part of the "new" Oscar Micheaux movement as a trailblazer for independent film distribution. Gregory created Stomp the Yard, one of the most profitable dance films of all time, and produced, marketed, and theatrically distributed the independent film Trois, one of the Top 50 highest grossing Independent Films of its release year according to Daily Variety.
April 3, 2008 5-7pm - Colloquium: The Show Business High Wire Act- at 2-105
In the year 2008, artists and businesspersons navigate the vast divide between the world of independent filmmaking and the Hollywood studio system as the lines between the two become increasingly more blurred. As pop culture integration - the fusing of music, sports, dance, event programming, reality, and other subcultures geared toward mainstream audiences while highlighting the genre demographic - has become the lifeline for both the artistic and commercial filmmaker, where do you find the happy medium, or is there one anymore? Writer, producer, distributor, and president of Tri Destined Films, Gregory Anderson has been called a part of the "new" Oscar Micheaux movement as a trailblazer for independent film distribution. Gregory created Stomp the Yard, one of the most profitable dance films of all time, and produced, marketed, and theatrically distributed the independent film Trois, one of the Top 50 highest grossing Independent Films of its release year according to Daily Variety.
04.10.08 | 5-7 PM | Bartos Theater
Communications Forum:
Our World Digitized: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Yochai Benkler, Cass Sunstein
Much discussion of our impending digital future is insular and without nuance. Skeptics talk mainly among themselves, while utopians and optimists also keep company mainly within their own tribal cultures. This forum challenges this unhelpful division, staging a conversation between Yochai Benkler and Cass Sunstein, two of our country's most thoughtful and influential writers on the promise and the perils of the Internet Age.
Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for Future Civic Media
April 10, 2008 5-7pm - Comm. Forum: Our World Digitized- at Bartos Theater
Much discussion of our impending digital future is insular and without nuance. Skeptics talk mainly among themselves, while utopians and optimists also keep company mainly within their own tribal cultures. This forum challenges this unhelpful division, staging a conversation between Yochai Benkler and Cass Sunstein, two of our country's most thoughtful and influential writers on the promise and the perils of the Internet Age. Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for Future Civic Media.
04.16.08 | 5-7 PM | 32-155 (note date and location)
Remembering Los Angeles in the Digital Age:
Pat O'Neill's The Decay of Fiction
Edward Dimenberg
Los Angeles artist and special effects virtuoso Pat O'Neill filmed The Decay of Fiction (2002) in the landmark Ambassador Hotel, once the center of Hollywood celebrity culture. His film blurs the boundaries between architectural investigation, urban documentation, and aesthetic exploration. At once a poetic homage to classical film genres, it is also a suggestive indication of how remembering the city is changing in response to new technologies. Edward Dimendberg is Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, Visual Studies, and German at the University of California, Irvine. He is author of Film Noir and the Spaces of Modernity (2004), co-editor of The Weimar Republic Sourcebook (1994), and currently serves as Multimedia Editor of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.
April 16, 2008 5-7pm - Colloquium: Remembering L.A. in the Digital Age- at 32-155
Los Angeles artist and special effects virtuoso Pat O'Neill filmed The Decay of Fiction (2002) in the landmark Ambassador Hotel, once the center of Hollywood celebrity culture. His film blurs the boundaries between architectural investigation, urban documentation, and aesthetic exploration. At once a poetic homage to classical film genres, it is also a suggestive indication of how remembering the city is changing in response to new technologies. Edward Dimendberg is Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies, Visual Studies, and German at the University of California, Irvine. He is author of Film Noir and the Spaces of Modernity (2004), co-editor of The Weimar Republic Sourcebook (1994), and currently serves as Multimedia Editor of the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians.
04.24.08 | 5-7 PM | Bartos Theater
Communications Forum:
Youth and Civic Engagement
Lance Bennett, Ian V. Rowe, Alan Khazei
The current generation of young citizens is growing up in an age of unprecedented access to information. Will this change their understanding of democracy? What factors will shape their involvement in the political process?
Lance Bennett is Ruddick C. Lawrence Professor of Communication and Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, where he founded and directs the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement. Ian V. Rowe is the Vice-President of Strategic Partnerships and Public Affairs for MTV. His department oversees MTV's online community think that informs viewers on domestic and global issues, and he is helping supervise MTV's 2008 Choose or Lose campaign, which includes a team of 51 citizen journalists - one in every state and the District of Columbia. Alan Khazei co-founded City Year, which enlists more than 1,200 young adults, in 16 communities across America and in Johannesburg South Africa, for a year of full-time community service. He is currently founder and CEO of Be the Change, a non-partisan citizens' civic organization.
Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for Future Civic Media
April 24, 2008 5-7pm - Comm. Forum: Youth and Civic Engagement- at Bartos Theater
The current generation of young citizens is growing up in an age of unprecedented access to information. Will this change their understanding of democracy? What factors will shape their involvement in the political process?
Lance Bennett is Ruddick C. Lawrence Professor of Communication and Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington, where he founded and directs the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement. Ian V. Rowe is the Vice-President of Strategic Partnerships and Public Affairs for MTV. His department oversees MTV's online community think that informs viewers on domestic and global issues, and he is helping supervise MTV's 2008 Choose or Lose campaign, which includes a team of 51 citizen journalists - one in every state and the District of Columbia. Alan Khazei co-founded City Year, which enlists more than 1,200 young adults, in 16 communities across America and in Johannesburg South Africa, for a year of full-time community service. He is currently founder and CEO of Be the Change, a non-partisan citizens' civic organization. Co-sponsored by the MIT Center for Future Civic Media.
05.01.08 | 5:30-7 PM (note time) | Bartos Theater
Moving Through Time and Space
Chantal Akerman
The Blaffer Gallery at the Art Museum of the University of Houston, the MIT List Visual Arts Center, The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and Miami Art Central/Miami Art Museum are collaborating to organize Chantal Akerman: Moving through Time and Space. This is internationally renowned filmmaker and video artist Chantal Akerman's first major museum exhibition in the United States. The exhibition will feature five multi-media video installations: her "documentary series" comprised of D'Est (From the East), Sud, From the Other Side, La Bas, and a new work commissioned especially for the exhibition. Chantal Akerman will also be conducting an artist's residency at MIT. This lecture will be followed by the opening reception to the exhibition.
Co-sponsored by the List Visual Arts Center
May 1, 2008 5:30-7pm - Colloquium: Moving Through Time and Space- at Bartos Theater
The Blaffer Gallery at the Art Museum of the University of Houston, the MIT List Visual Arts Center, The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and Miami Art Central/Miami Art Museum are collaborating to organize Chantal Akerman: Moving through Time and Space. This is internationally renowned filmmaker and video artist Chantal Akerman's first major museum exhibition in the United States. The exhibition will feature five multi-media video installations: her "documentary series" comprised of D'Est (From the East), Sud, From the Other Side, La Bas, and a new work commissioned especially for the exhibition. Chantal Akerman will also be conducting an artist's residency at MIT. This lecture will be followed by the opening reception to the exhibition. Co-sponsored by the List Visual Arts Center.