4.356 U / 4.357 G

What do the words “cinematic” and “migration” evoke? What does the conjunction evoke? How is “cinematic” being defined here? How is “migration” being defined here? How are both being thought in relation to each other?

Desire for cinema perhaps existed before its creation. Questions regarding this speculation and the variety of ways this longing has been addressed in the past and present form the basis of inquiry in this workshop.

The course explores how cinema has been transformed in and by online video and television, spatial installations, performance and dance, and an expanding range of formats and portable devices, as well as the theory and content of how cinema is categorized, disseminated, and analyzed. This workshop is meant to stimulate further experiments in transdisciplinary forms and to broaden students’ perception of cinema in the present.

The workshop will include explorations of the emergence of cinemas on local and national levels that have migrated through the world to varying effect. Readings will include philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s Cinema 1: The Movement Image, and Cinema 2: The Time Image. We will be screening and discussing films by film makers and artists such as: Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Chris Marker, John Akomfrah, Harun Farocki, Chantal Akerman, Lucrecia Martel, Ousmane Sembene, Jia Zhangke, Agnes Varda, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Renee Green and Yvonne Rainer. Students are encouraged to produce time-based work in forms adapted to their interests.

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

4.356/4.357 Syllabus (MIT Certificate protected)

4.341 U / 4.342 G

Introduction to Photography & Related Media offers an overview of the photographic medium and related media as tools for artistic expression. The word ‘photography’ was created from the Greek roots φωτός (phōtos), genitive of φως (phōs) and γραφή (graphé), together meaning ‘drawing with light.’ Since its invention, photography has constantly evolved technically as its role in society has become more impactful. Through readings, lectures, workshops, in class discussions and critic sessions, the course introduces students to the history of photography and the use of images in contemporary art practices. It fosters, both theoretically and practically, visual literacy and an understanding of photography from analog to digital imaging technologies. Throughout the semester, students receive practical instructions for various camera formats and instructions in digital imaging (essentially Photoshop). Readings, film screenings and assignments addressing specific topics challenge students to experiment with a range of techniques while discovering iconic visual artworks. Students explore the photographic medium and other related media while developing critical awareness of the cultural and technological production of images. Assignments are continuously discussed in a critical forum. Students present a topic at the end of the semester. Students from various disciplines welcome however enrollment is limited to 15. 

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

4.341/4.342 Syllabus (Baladi) — MIT Certificate Required
4.341/4.342 Syllabus (Membreno-Canales) — MIT Certificate Required

4.314 U / 4.315 G

Examines artistic practice as a form of critical inquiry and knowledge production. Offers opportunity to develop art as a means for addressing the social, cultural, and ecological consequences of technology, to build bridges between industry and culture, and to challenge the boundaries between public and private, and human and non-human. Provides instruction in evaluating models of experimentation, individual research, and collaboration with other disciplines in the arts, culture, science, and technology. Supports the development of individual and collective artistic research projects. Additional work required of students taking the graduate version.

4.314/4.315 Syllabus (MIT Certificate protected)

Introduces artistic practice and critical visual thinking through three studio-based projects using different scales and media, for instance, "Body Extension," "Shaping Time," "Public Making," and/or "Networked Cultures." Each project concludes with a final presentation and critique. Students explore sculptural, architectural, performative artistic methods; video and sound art; site interventions and strategies for artistic engagement in the public realm. Lectures, screenings, guest presentations, field trips, readings, and debates supplement studio practice. Also introduces students to the historic, cultural, and environmental forces affecting both the development of an artistic vision and the reception of a work of art.

4.301 Syllabus (MIT Certificate protected)

8/17/22 Note: The design and urbanism sections will now meet together.

Students select thesis topic, define method of approach, and prepare thesis proposal for SMArchS degree. Faculty supervision on an individual or group basis. Intended for SMArchS program students prior to registration for 4.THG.

• Computation students: register for section L2
• Design & Urbanism students register for L1

Introduces critical theories and contemporary practices in the field of urbanism that challenge its paradigms and advance its future. Includes theoretical linkages between ideas about the cultures of urbanization, social and political processes of development, environmental tradeoffs of city making, and the potential of design disciplines to intervene to change the future of built forms. Events and lecture series co-organized by faculty and doctoral students further engage and inform research.

Through extensive reading and writing, students will explore the promise and perils of the variegated city, focusing on topics that demand urgent attention: climate change, inequality, racial injustice, and public space. Students will work to create artful narratives by examining how various forms—essay, memoir, longform journalism, poetry, fiction, film, photography, and song—illuminate our understanding of cities. Special emphasis will be on the imagination as a rich reservoir for inhabiting and understanding cities, the writer as the reader's advocate, and on the indispensability of the writer-editor relationship, with the goal of better engaging with and understanding cities, not to mention writing with greater creativity and sophistication for specialized and general-interest audiences. 

Admission is only by application. Prerequisite: Submit by Saturday, September 10, at 8:00 p.m. an application letter (no longer than 600 words, and as a Microsoft Word document with your full name in the top right margin) that explains your interest in the class, and discuss a work—novel, essay, film, painting, sculpture, song, play, building—that influences how you see a particular city.

Examines the evolving structure of cities and the way that cities, suburbs, and metropolitan areas can be designed and developed. Surveys the ideas of a wide range of people who have addressed urban problems. Stresses the connection between values and design. Demonstrates how physical, social, political and economic forces interact to shape and reshape cities over time.