Moving Images Research Group (MIRG)

The Moving Images Research Group (MIRG) brings together an interdisciplinary group of faculty and students focused on the study of moving images, including narrative and documentary film as well as television and new media. Our previously funded projects supported the new Cinema & Media Studies PhD Certificate Program and explored questions of physical and digital preservation. In 2014-15, we will facilitate the curricular breadth and depth of a new, free-standing Cinema & Media Studies (CMS) major by fostering crossdisciplinary academic research and pedagogical exchange as well as engaging the public around the past, present and future of moving images.

The CMS @ UW Initiative

Toward this end, we have launched the CMS @ UW Initiative, which includes:

Curricular and Pedagogical Development Activities

• Best Practices for PhD Pedagogy sessions in which 8-10 faculty outline strategies for teaching and mentoring graduate students and for training TAs.
• Curriculum Development Luncheons for cross-disciplinary teams of 4-5 faculty who want to collaboratively design new courses, or revise existing courses.
• Instructional Technology Workshops that highlight emerging technologies for teaching cinema and media studies in face-to-face, hybrid and online environments.

Crossdisciplinary Exchange of CMS Scholarship

• First Friday Lecture Series showcasing talks by MIRG faculty members and graduate students throughout the year.
• What is Cinema and Media Studies? A Pacific Northwest Unconference engages the implications of new media environments; the ways in which digitization, online sharing, and social media have altered the production, distribution, exhibition, and cultural categorization of moving images; and how institutions understand “cinema and media studies” as a curriculum, field, or area of study.  Scheduled for Winter 2015, the unconference will host participants from all UW campuses as well as institutions throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Public Interaction and Scholarship

• Co-Sponsored Screenings with Northwest Film Forum and Seattle International Film Festival educational programs.
• Co-Sponsored Visiting Artists who will appear on campus as well as partner non-profit film and media venues.
• Introductions, Guest Lectures, and Q&A Facilitation for film series at Northwest Film Forum, Seattle International Film Festival, The Seattle Theater Group, The Seattle Asian-American Film Festival, and Henry Art Gallery, among other institutions.

Professional Development for Students

• Quarterly Industry Professional Luncheons that bring Seattle-based film and media professionals to campus for informal discussions with students.
• Travel Support for Cinema & Media Studies PhD Students to attend national conferences.