Requirements
Like other secondary fields at Harvard, Critical Media Practice allows PhD students to broaden their course of study and enhance the competitiveness and professional reach of their degree programs. Students must meet all degree milestones and deadlines in their home PhD programs and at GSAS in addition to the CMP requirements below. The secondary field will appear on a students’ transcript but not on their degree. Please be sure to speak with your primary advisor before applying to CMP. These are the requirements to successfully complete the CMP secondary field (see suggested timeline):
COURSES Students must receive grades of B+ or above in four courses related to Critical Media Practice. At least three of these classes must be drawn from the Core list of CMP courses or from the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies studio, photo, or film/video production course list. The fourth class may be an outside Elective, but only if the student gets the instructor’s written approval to submit an original work of media in partial satisfaction of the course requirements. Note: For students from the Department of Music, CMP courses must involve an additional medium other than music, such as installation, video, sculpture, etc.
CAPSTONE PROJECT CMP students produce a capstone media project that complements their doctoral dissertation. It may consist of a film or video, a sound work, a series of photographs, an internet project; or a series of objects, an installation, or a performance in which media play a key role. The capstone may grow out of a class project but must be approved by CMP as having made substantial progress beyond the form it took in the class. Alternatively, the capstone can be an entirely original project independent of coursework but connected to the student’s dissertation.
Students are required to submit a CMP capstone proposal, signed by their CMP Faculty Advisor and their Departmental Advisor, to the CMP Program Coordinator at least three semesters prior to graduation.
CAPSTONE FACULTY COMMITTEE Students select a faculty committee of two to evaluate their capstone projects: one member drawn from the list of CMP Affiliated Faculty and one from the student’s dissertation committee in their home department. Capstone defenses ideally occur at least a semester before graduation. Students are required to present their capstone work-in-progress at the CMP critique twice a year starting in the Spring semester of their G3 year.
Students are encouraged to exhibit their CMP works on and off campus. View the 2019 CMP Exhibition program booklet here.
DOCUMENTATION Each semester in which students complete a class they must update their CMP academic progress form, which will be assigned to them when they are accepted into the program. At the end of their studies, students must submit the PHD Secondary Field Application to both the registrar’s office and the CMP Program Coordinator and an archival copy of their capstone project (including 2-3 high-resolution stills). Once the CMP Director of Graduate Studies approves this documentation, CMP will notify the registrar of the student’s successful completion of CMP secondary field requirements.
Courses
The following courses count for CMP credit, as do all Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies film/video production and studio courses.
Spring 2025
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Advanced Critical Media Practice AFVS 355R Katarina Burin
Painting and the Multiverse AFVS 121S Kianja Strobert MW 12:00-2:45
Process Painting AFVS 129H Maryam Hoseini F 9:00-1:00
Ask the Dust: Advanced Studio Class (Photography) AFVS 146E Patrice Helmar TuThu 3:00-5:45
Directed Research: Studio Course AFVS 196R Rindon Johnson W 6:00-9:00
Film Direction: From Script to Screen AFVS 150B Alain Gomis MW 3:00-5:45
The Bolex: Working in Film AFVS 152F Robb Moss TuThu 12:00-2:45
Intermediate Animation AFVS 153PR Bryan Parcival Tu 12:00-4:15 & F 12:00-2:00 (films)
Handmade Films AFVS 157Y Rhayne Vermette TuThu 9:00-11:45
The Essay Film AFVS 159H Sky Hopinka MW 3:00-5:45
The Matrix of the Visible: From Thought to Screen AFVS 161H Tala Hadid WF 9:00-11:45
Filmmaking and the Word AFVS 163Y Rhayne Vermette TuThu 3:00-5:45
Podcast: Uploading the Present TDM 168B Tania Bruguera
The School of Arte Útil TDM 185B Tania Bruguera
Fall 2024
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Advanced Projects in Time-Based Media AFVS 264 Jumana Manna M 12:00-2:45
Sleight of Hand Sleight of Mind: Creative Process and Photography AFVS 148 Sharon Harper MW 12:45-2:45
Directed Research: Studio Course AFVS 196R Rindon Johnson W 6:00-9:00
Social Justice Filmmaking AFVS 154 Julie Mallozzi TuThu 12:00-2:45, lab, F 12:00-2:00
Sensory Ethnography III AFVS 158CR Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel Tu 12:00-4:15 & 6:00-8:45
Sensory Ethnography IV AFVS 158DR Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel F 9:00-12:00
Performing Outside the Theater TDM 172B Tania Bruguera W 3:00-5:45
Collective Protocols as Public Space TDM 187B Tania Bruguera Tu 9:00-11:45
Film Directing: Approaching Fiction Now AFVS 150A Alice Diop MW 3:00-5:45
Non-Fiction Video Projects AFVS 151BR Robb Moss Thu 12:00-4:15
Intermediate Animation: Intermediate Studio Course AFVS 153BR Ruth Lingford Thu 12:00-4:15 & F 12:00-2:00 (films)
Thinking with Your Hand: Intermediate Painting AFVS 120 Judith Belzer W 12:00-5:45
In Motion: Painting and Drawing AFVS 127H Maryam Hoseini F 9:00-1:00
Get Real: The Art of Community-Based Film English CACF. Musa Syeed W 12:00-2:45pm
PAST COURSES
Spring 2024
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Advanced Critical Media Practice AFVS 355R Tania Bruguera W 3:00pm-5:45pm
Documentary Fictions AFVS 155 Joana Pimenta Tu 12:00-2:45pm & Thu 12:00-4:15pm
Lo-Fi Sci Fi (Intermediate Video) AFVS 164L Joana Pimenta Tu 12:00-2:45pm & Thu 12:00-4:15pm
Sensory Ethnography 1 AFVS 158AR/ANTHRO 1836AR Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor Tu 12:00-4:15pm, F 9:00-11:45am
Sensory Ethnography 2 AFVS 158BR/ANTHRO 1836BR Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor Thu 12:00-4:15pm, F 9:00-11:45am
Volumes: Sound, Sculpture and Space AFVS 136S chukwumaa M 1:30-5:45pm
Ghost Image AFVS 149H Patrice Helmar TuThu 3:00-5:45pm
Directed Research AFVS 196R Stephen Prina W 6:00-9:00pm
Critical Printing AFVS 215 Matt Saunders & Jennifer Roberts TuThu 12:00- 2:45pm
Film Direction: From Script to Screen AFVS 150B Alain Gomis TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
The Bolex: Working in Film AFVS 152F Alfred Guzzetti TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Intermediate Animation AFVS 153BR Ruth Lingford W 12:00-2:45pm, F 12:00-4:15pm
Experimental Animation: Moving in Place AFVS 157K Kim Forero-Arnias Tu 12-4:15pm & F 12:00-2:00pm
The Essay Film AFVS 159H Sky Hopinka MW 3:00-5:45pm
Filming Science HISTSCI 1520 Robb Moss & Peter Galison TuThu 9:00-11:45am
Archival Fictions English CVLF. Valeria Luiselli W 12:45-2:45pm
Painting and the Multiverse AFVS 121S Kianja Strobert Thur 1:30-5:45pm
Abstraction AFVS 124K Kianja Strobert TuThu 9:00-11:45am
Post Brush AFVS 123R Annette Lemieux TuThu 9:00-11:45am
Podcast: Uploading the Present TDM 168B Tania Bruguera Tu 9:00-11:45am
Words & Photographs English CWP Teju Cole W 3:00-5:45pm
Compositional Studies MUSIC 164R Yvette Jackson Tu 12:45-2:45pm
Fall 2023
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Directed Research AFVS 196R Stephen Prina W 6:00-9:00pm
Advanced Projects in Time-Based Media AFVS 264 Karthik Pandian W 12:00-2:45pm
Film Directing: Approaching Fiction Now AFVS 150A Alain Gomis TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Nonfiction Video Projects AFVS 151BR Ross McElwee MW 9:00-11:45am
Intermediate Animation AFVS 153BR Ruth Lingford Tu 12:00-4:15pm & F 12:00-2:00pm
Sensory Ethnography III AFVS 158CR Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel TuThu 12:00-4:15pm
Sensory Ethnography IV AFVS 158DR Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verena Paravel F 9:00-11:45am
Creative Ethnographic Practice: Sound, Writing, and Film MUSIC 207R Richard Wolf M 3:00-5:00pm, Th 3:00-5:00pm (first half of semester only)
Sonic Mapping and the Black Experience MUSIC 284R Yvette Jackson W 3:00-5:00pm
Collective Protocols as Social Space TDM 187B Tania Bruguera T 9:00-11:45am
Performing Outside the Theater TDM 172B Tania Bruguera W 3:00-5:45pm
Drawing 2: Emotion and Notation AFVS 112E Katarina Burin MW 3:00-5:45pm
Thinking with Your Hand: Intermediate Painting AFVS 120 Judith Belzer W 12:00-5:45pm
Sleight of Hand Sleight of Mind: Creative Process and Photography AFVS 148 Sharon Harper MW 12:45-2:45pm
Art of Listening: The Politics and Aesthetics of Sound English CVLL Valeria Luiselli W 12:45-2:45pm
CMP Elective Credit Courses:
Scientific Visualization: From Galileo to Black Holes HISTSCI 2270 Peter Galison Tu 9:00-11:45am
Dance & Technology: Womxn Choreographers & Intermedia TDM 147WC LROD Tu 12:00-2:45pm
Spring 2023
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Advanced Critical Media Practice AFVS 355R Katarina Burin Thu 3:00-4:45pm
Graduate Studio Workshop AFVS 390 David Joselit Tu 6:00-8:45pm
Sensory Ethnography 1 AFVS 158AR/ANTHRO 1836AR Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel Tu 12:00-4:15pm
Sensory Ethnography 2 AFVS 158BR/ANTHRO 1836BR Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Verena Paravel Thu 12:00-4:15pm
Documentary Fictions AFVS 155 Joana Pimenta TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Other Lives of Time: Intermediate Filmmaking Course AFVS 156T RaMell Ross
Observation and Intervention: Filmmaking as Inquiry AFVS 154J Julie Mallozzi TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Intermediate Animation: Intermediate Studio Course AFVS 153BR Ruth Lingford W 12:00-4:15pm
The Bolex: Working in Film AFVS 152F Robb Moss Thu 12:00-4:15pm
Film Directing: From Script to Screen AFVS 150B Dominga Sotomayor TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Directed Research AFVS 196R Stephen Prina W 6:00-9:00pm
A Way of Seeing: Photography Course AFVS147H Patrice Helmar W 12:00-4:15pm
Volumes: Sound, Sculpture and Space AFVS136S chukwumaa M 1:30-5:45pm
Post Brush AFVS 123R Annette Lemieux TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Postcards from Volcanoes AFVS 125S Matt Saunders W 9-11:45pm
Quilting Circles and Assembly Lines: Painting Couse AFVS 128 Abdi Farrah TuThu 3:00-5:45pm
Introduction to Screenwriting: Workshop English CALR, Musa Syeed M 12:00-2:45pm
Advanced Screenwriting: Workshop English CALR, Musa Syeed Tu 12:00-2:45pm
Podcast: Uploading the Present TDM 168B Tania Bruguera M 9:00-11:45am
Performing Outside the Theater TDM 172B Tania Bruguera Tu 9:00-11:45am
Creative Music: Advanced Ensemble Workshop MUSIC 177 Vijay Iyer M 3:00-5:30pm
The Exorcist TDM 139X David Levine Tu 3:00-5:45pm
The Camera-Pen: The Essay Film from a Latin American Perspective ROM-STD 141 Andrés Di Tella TuThu 3:00-5:00pm
Fall 2022
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Sensory Ethnography III AFVS 158CR/ANTHRO 1836CR Lucien Castaing-Taylor TuThu 9:00-11:45am
Sensory Ethnography IV AFVS 158DR/ANTHRO 1836DR Lucien Castaing-Taylor F 9:00-11:45am
Photography and Evidence of Things Unseen AFVS 145K Dawn Kim MW 12:00-2:45pm
Vertical Cinema AFVS 165V Karthik Pandian TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Directed Research AFVS 196R Stephen Prina W 6:00-9:00pm
Film Directing: Approaching Fiction Now AFVS 150A Dominga Sotomayor TuThu 12:00-2:45pm
Nonfiction Video Projects AFVS 151BR Ross McElwee TuThu 9:00-11:45am
Intermediate Animation AFVS 153BR Ruth Lingford W 12:00-4:00pm & F 12:00-2:00pm
Immersive Experience as Art AFVS 157L Young Joo Lee Tu 12:00-4:00pm & F 12:00-2:00pm
Working with Actors and Non-Actors AFVS 163 Dominga Sotomayor M 3:00-7:00pm
Words & Photographs: Workshop English CWP, Teju Cole W 3:00-5:45pm
Get Real: The Art of Community-Based Film English CACF, Musa Syeed Tu 12:00-2:45pm
Artistic Process (+) A TDM Festival TDM 134, LROD, Phillip Howze, Dede Ayite Tu 12:00-2:45pm
Collective Protocols as Social Space TDM 187B, Tania Bruguera TBA
Spring 2022
CMP Core Credit Courses:
Advanced Critical Media Practice AFVS 355R Joana Pimenta Thu 3:00-5:45pm Sever 416
Graduate Studio Workshop AFVS 390 David Joselit W 6:00pm – 8:45pm Location:TBA
Sensory Ethnography 1 AFVS 158AR/ANTHRO 1836AR Verena Paravel TuThu 6:00-7:15pm Sever B10
Sensory Ethnography 2 AFVS 158BR/ANTHRO 1836BR Verena Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor TuThu 7:30-8:45pm Sever B10
Immersive Experience As Art AFVS 157L Young Joo Lee Tu 12:00-4:15pm & F 12:00-2:00pm Sever 402-404 and Carpenter Center B04
Sound Studio Workshop: This is a show tune, but the tune hasn’t been written for it yet AFVS 162 SCRAAATCH Thu 3:00-5:45pm Linden 109
Directed Research AFVS 196R Stephen Prina W 6:00-9:00pm Carpenter Center 5th Floor and B04
Hoarding Fever/Archive Fatigue AFVS 114 Katarina Burin W 3:00-5:45pm Carpenter Center 4th Floor
Where are We Going? The Photograph in Contemporary Art AFVS 146J John Edmonds Thu 1:30-5:45pm Carpenter Center B19
Intermediate Animation AFVS 153BR Ruth Lingford W 12:00-4:15pm & F 12:00-2:00pm Sever 402-404 and Carpenter Center B04
Ethnomusicology: Creative Ethnographic Practice: Sound, Writing and Film MUSIC 207R Richard Wolf M & TH 3:00-5:00pm Location: TBA
Theater 000 TDM 169B Lex Brown Tu 3:00-5:45pm Location: TBA
CMP Critique
CMP students are required to show work-in-progress versions of their capstone projects, and other projects related to their capstone, twice a year starting in their G3 year: at a school-wide peer critique in the fall, to which all CMP students are invited; and at a school-wide faculty critique in the spring, to which CMP students, faculty, guest artists, filmmakers, and curators are invited.
Students’ work should be installed during the week prior to the critiques in the available space that is most suitable for the needs of the work. These critiques generally take place on a Thursday evening and full Friday in October and April. Students present their work in small groups organized by medium.
Resources
Production Equipment While media production courses at Harvard are generally supported by other equipment pools, CMP has a limited amount of equipment available for CMP work created outside of courses, including capstone projects. All equipment is managed by the Film Study Center and shared among its fellows and CMP students.
Equipment requests should be sent to Film and Video Technician Stefan Grabowski at least two weeks prior to the desired checkout date. Due to limited resources, we cannot guarantee access to desired equipment at any given time. Check-out and check-in of equipment is by appointment only with borrower in person to review the condition of equipment and its proper use and handling.
Use of CMP equipment is a privilege; please care for it to ensure continued access for all students. The borrower assumes full liability for repairing or replacing any equipment that is damaged or lost while in their care. Students are strongly encouraged to take out personal renter’s insurance such as that found at collegestudentinsurance.com.
A complete list of equipment is available on the Film Study Center website.
Post-Production CMP students may request access to our digital editing facilities located in Vanserg Hall. We have several Mac-based editing stations with a range of software and excellent video and audio monitors, including a 5.1 audio mixing station. You may request access from Stefan Grabowski. Priority will be given to students working on capstone projects.
Capstone Fellowships: Students are eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in funding towards their capstone project. Applications are available here and are due on October 11, 2024. The committee will meet to review applications in late October, with decisions announced by December. Capstone projects at later stages of development and most in need of funding will be prioritized, regardless of students’ expected graduation year; CMP students can receive up to $5,000 total in capstone support during their time in the program. The Fellowships are generously funded by the Division of Arts & Humanities.
Workshops The Film Study Center offers regular workshops and master classes for FSC fellows and CMP students. See Events page for information.
Additional Resources As members of the Harvard community, CMP students have access to many other useful resources, including:
LinkedIn offers thousands of online courses and video tutorials, including on media production and post-production.
CMP students have access to the Film Studies Library, a collection of DVDs, books, CDs, and periodicals that is managed by the Department of Art, Film, and Visual Studies.
Harvard Library maintains subscriptions to Kanopy, Alexander Street, and many other film streaming services.
The Film Study Center maintains a list of filmmaking resources at Harvard as well as curated lists of off-campus resources such as film services, directories, and opportunities.
Apply
Applications for admission to the Critical Media Practice secondary field may be submitted to the CMP Program Coordinator twice a year on October 15 (extended to November 1, 2024) and April 15 or the first weekday following each deadline. Students must have successfully completed at least one core CMP course before applying, have lined up an initial CMP advisor, and submit a link to a media project they created. Students’ departmental advisors must also agree to and sign the application.
Admission to CMP is based on demonstrated ability in media practice; engagement with artistic methods and processes; and appropriateness of media-based approaches for the students’ research interests. Students will be notified of admission before the end of the semester in which they apply.
Forms
CMP Application for admission into the secondary field. Deadlines: October 15 (extended to November 1, 2024) or April 15 (or the first weekday following each deadline)
CMP Capstone Proposal for approval of your capstone project (due at least three semesters before graduation)
CMP Capstone Fellowship Application for up to $5,000 in funding (due October 11, 2024)
GSAS Secondary Field Graduation Petition to submit to the Office of the Registrar (due no later than the degree application deadline)