Is Comparative Media Studies the same thing as the Media Lab?
There are close informal relations between the CMS program and the Media Lab, including a jointly administered research project, the Center for Future Civic Media, but they are not the same thing. CMS is part of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Media Lab is housed in the School of Architecture and Urban Planning. The Media Lab could be characterized as a place for designing and developing innovative new technologies and has a strong orientation towards the future. The function of the CMS program is different. It is to understand the uses of technology. CMS focuses on the social, cultural, political, legal, and ethical implications of media, understood within a historical context, and on contemporary social uses of new technology. Many Media Lab students take CMS subjects. CMS faculty serve on MAS thesis and dissertation committees. Many of our faculty have collaborated on projects at the Media Lab. However, the two programs are quite distinct.
