Major Media Texts
MIT's Comparative Media Studies program offers this course in close reading of landmark media works, ranging from oral epics and story cycles to novels, films, opera, television drama and digital texts. Each year the syllabus shifts to focus on works that launched new genres, texts that reflect on their own medium, or stories that migrate across media. At least one assigned text is taught collaboratively, and the class regularly brings in visiting lecturers for discussion. The emphasis throughout is on aesthetic and contextual analysis rather than survey coverage, treating a handful of significant texts in depth instead of many briefly. Materials are available through MIT OpenCourseWare under a Creative Commons license, including the syllabus and reading list, free for anyone to study though no certificate is offered.