In Comparative Media Studies, we investigate and engage in the world’s complex media environment. We research multiple media forms and technologies, from books, pamphlets, and silent films to social media, virtual reality, and globally-networked games. We study the emerging media practices of states, corporations, social movements, fan communities, and everyday people. Embracing MIT’s motto of mens et manus, we design and create media through practice-based research labs. We examine media within the contexts of varied cultures, societies and social structures, and we critique and design media to empower communities. Above all, we are committed to an ethically and critically engaged approach to the study and production of media.
Research Themes
Our research groups, using a lab model, produce diverse projects. But collectively they work within themes of equity, critical design, and open collaboration.
Latest
Indigenous knowledge and technology at MIT: “Is it wise?”
From the Open Documentary Lab, “a week of workshops, lab visits, and pairings matched Indigenous delegates with relevant labs and researchers across MIT.”
Video: Mauricio Cordero, “BORDERx: A Crisis In Graphic Detail”
BORDERx is a comic anthology that examines the border crisis from a variety of points of view and narrative formats, featuring 70 contributors from all over the world.
