Annexation, greenwashing, and destructive notions of progress have all but wiped out the memory of an indigenous mythology once deeply rooted in an embodied, balanced stewardship of nature. How can the merging of artistic methodologies with agricultural practices address this loss of cultural capital?

Common Ground is a transdisciplinary experiment in learning from the land, seeking to develop a new field of inquiry at the intersection of art, science and agriculture. The history of art is also a history of agriculture, marking humanity’s complex relationship with the environment. This course will examine historic typologies of indigenous architectural and agrarian technologies, bringing them into conversation with contemporary techno-scientific and artistic discourses. Through this synthesis, our class will explore artistic methods to decolonize the social, political, economic and narrative structures that govern our relationship to nature. Following the semester, project documentation and research developed over the semester will contribute to a publication.

Applicants from across artistic and scientific disciplines are highly encouraged. Interested students should attend the first class. Undergraduates are welcome to enroll.

Seminar connecting the arts and sciences by exploring methodological similarities and differences across disciplines: arts/architecture, humanities/social sciences, engineering, natural and material sciences et al. Aimed at fostering student collaborations across research interests: students develop their ideas for projects through targeted analysis of their disciplinary and interdisciplinary  interests. Each student will either enter with a project in mind, or develop their project ideas within the class. Students can choose to work individually or in groups.

This seminar’s goal to provide blueprints for developing interdisciplinary projects: final is a paper/ plan with goals/outcomes forming the basis for collaborative interdisciplinary projects.  Examples of such projects: artwork that makes use of cross-species communication, (Tomás Saraceno); project engaging the natural sciences, composed of material that endlessly transform, simultaneously functioning as an artwork, (Neri Oxman).

First half semester is targeted reading (articles) across disciplines – based in student interests – alongside discussion of case studies of successful collaborations in these disciplines. Analyzing case studies plus reading will enable an understanding of methodological specificities in different disciplines in relation to aesthetics and fabrication issues, and directly in context of the particular disciplines under consideration. Together this fosters reciprocal knowledge of the strengths and differences across disciplines. Case studies drawn from MIT’s history: CAST and CAVS, and from across the global ‘artworld’. Second half semester will be geared toward aiding students in better connecting across disciplines at MIT (and possibly beyond). This is trial and error, of course. However, final project, as a working plan for interdisciplinary collaboration, will provide the knowledge base and research skills applicable to future projects.

Explores the theory and criticism of intersections between art, culture, and technology in relation to contemporary artistic practice, critical design, and media. Students consider methods of investigation, documentation, and display and explore modes of communication across disciplines. Students develop projects in which they organize research methods and goals, engage in production, cultivate a context for their practice, and explore how to compellingly communicate, display, and document their work. Regular presentation and peer-critique sessions, as well as reviews involving ACT faculty and fellows, and external guest reviewers provide students with ample feedback as their projects develop.

Aids students in the selection of a thesis topic, development of an approach method, preparation of a proposal that includes an outline for their thesis. Explores artistic practice as a method of critical inquiry and knowledge production/dissemination. Students examine artist writings and consider academic formats and standards. Regular group meetings, including peer reviews, are supplemented by independent study and individual conferences with faculty. 

How can insights from choreography inform more just and equitable ways of urban planning? In what ways can choreography help us to decolonize the urban landscape? How can choreography make us attentive to a community’s emotional, cultural and corporeal memory? How can dance, as a three-dimensional bodily practice, help us to move beyond scripted spaces and codified routes? These are the questions we tackle in Choreographing the City, a course developed with Theatrum Mundi, prof. Richard Sennett and CAST-supported MIT visiting artist and choreographer Dr. Adesola Akinleye.

Both choreography and planning organize time and space to shape movement; both emerge through practice and experience; and both have physical and social outputs as well as constraints. Looking at the interdependencies of these terms, this class will generate an interdisciplinary dialogue between choreographic and spatial practices. Through readings, group discussions and creative practices, the class participants will mobilize choreography as an epistemological tool in order to 1) expose the colonial remnants on which the city rests, 2) emphasize the climate-induced changing structures of the city, and 3) open up pathways towards a decolonized and fair urban commonwealth.

Additional work required of students taking graduate version.

Focused on the practices of varied practitioners — film directors, artists, musicians, composers, architects, designers — whose writings relay a process of thinking and feeling integral to their forms of material production. Testing various ways aesthetic forms and their shifts — historic and contemporary — have relations to still emerging contemporary subjectivities (felt emotion in a human body), the class studies productions created by participants and case studies of varied producers, and generates new work individually and/or collaboratively via diverse media explorations. Includes reading, writing, drawing, and publishing, as well as photographic, cinematic, spatial, and audio operations productions. Activities include screenings, listening assignments, and guest visits, in addition to readings, discussions, and presentations.

Examines the technical and conceptual variables and strategies inherent in contemporary video art practice. Analyzes structural concepts of time, space, perspective, and sound within the art form. Building upon the historical legacy of the moving the image, students render self-exploration, performance, social critique, and manipulation of raw experience into an aesthetic form. Emphasizes practical knowledge of lighting, video capturing and editing, and montage. Presentation and critique of student work, technical workshops, screenings, and reading discussions assist students with final project.

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version.

Introduces advanced strategies of image and sound manipulation, both technical and conceptual. Covers pre-production planning (storyboards and scripting), refinement of digital editing techniques, visual effects such as chroma-keying, post-production, as well as audio and sonic components. Context provided by regular viewings of contemporary video artworks and other audio-visual formats. Students work individually and in groups to develop skills in media literacy and communication.

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version. 

Advanced Photography and Related Media is a studio seminar course which addresses Historical Memory and the Politics of Representation. The course is designed for students who wish to explore photography and related media as tools for artistic practice. Students are encouraged to explore analog, digital and new technologies while researching and studying visual strategies used in photography, film, art and visual culture at large. 

Through lectures, readings, film screenings, student-driven projects, guest lecturers’ presentations and critique sessions, students experiment with a range of artistic strategies. Throughout the semester they engage in cross disciplinary research and work on a project individually or collaboratively. On a weekly basis, students discuss theoretical texts related to various artistic practices, cutting across a range of media and various historical contexts. 

Students are encouraged to work with a diversity of media and formats including film, video, sculpture, multimedia installations etc., providing images/photography remain central to their projects. Students from various disciplines are invited to enroll. 

This course is open to all students with a background in photography or any related media - Introduction to Photography or the equivalent. Students from various disciplines are encouraged to enroll and submit a portfolio of 15+ images of previous works. 

Introduces history and contemporary practices in artistic photography through projects, lectures, artist visits, group discussions, readings, and field trips. Fosters visual literacy and aesthetic appreciation of photography/digital imaging, as well as critical awareness of how images in our culture are produced and constructed. Provides instruction in the fundamentals of different camera formats, film exposure and development, lighting, black and white darkroom printing, and digital imaging. Assignments allow for incorporation of a range of traditional and experimental techniques, development of technical skills, and personal exploration. Throughout the term, present and discuss projects in a critical forum.

Additional work required of students taking the graduate version.