Media in Transition
MIT's Comparative Media Studies course examines historical periods when media technologies were radically reshaped, from the Gutenberg Revolution through the rise of mass media to the digital revolution. Readings draw on cultural and social history along with historiographic method, asking students to treat past media shifts as case studies for understanding change happening today. The course materials, published through MIT OpenCourseWare, include a syllabus, weekly reading lists, and assignment descriptions used in the original MIT class. There is no instructor interaction or certificate; the value is in the structured reading sequence and the analytical framework it builds for comparing print, broadcast, and digital transformations across centuries. Suited to students interested in media history, historiography, or the cultural effects of technological change.