Media Initiative 2011-2014
Our approach to “Media” is informed both by the emergence of Media Studies as a field both at Carnegie Mellon and elsewhere, and by an interest in moving in new directions that acknowledge recent developments related to the rise of “new” and “social” media. Such developments challenge us to evaluate “old” media and forms of narration, representation, and social and political engagement, in new ways and contexts. They challenge us, as well, to consider how the longstanding distinctions between the work and place of “artist” and “scholar” might be reassessed and transformed through collaborative work. Co-organized by Jim Duesing of the School of Art and Kathy Newman of the English Department, the Media Initiative (2011-2014) draws together faculty members from Carnegie Mellon’s Colleges of Fine Arts and of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Initiative will include a series of events, conferences, performances, and courses, and will support several major projects including: Listening Spaces; Trans-Q Television; and SocialChange101.