Practice based

The Practice based Track (formally Track 2) combines production courses with the critical study of the cultural role of practice. It aims to engage students in the analysis of theories of production elaborated within philosophical, artistic, and technological traditions, while encouraging them to produce works that interrogate these traditions.

College Writing Requirement

MCM concentartors must complete the College Writing Requirement by taking two writing-intenstive or WRIT courses.

11 Course Requirements:

Requirement Courses
2 core courses (chosen with the advisor to reflect the student’s production interest) 

a. MCM0150 Text/Media Culture: Theories of Modern Culture and Media (NOTE: This requirement should be completed before the senior year).

b. Introductory Practice Course 
(For example: MCM0700 Introduction to the Production Image, MCM0710A Introduction to Filmic Practice Time and Form, MCM0730A Introduction to Video Production: Critical Strategies and Histories, MCM0750A Art in Digital Culture, VISA0100 Studio Foundation, VISA0120 Foundation Media: Sound and Image, MUSC0200, CSCI0150 Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science, LITR0110 Workshops in Creative Writing I, LITR0210 Workshops in Creative Writing II) or History of a Medium or Practice (for example: HIAA0010 A Global History of Art and Architecture, TAPS0030 Introduction to Acting and Directing, MUSC0010 Music in History, from Kildegard to Hamilton, or MUSC0040 World Music Cultures (Africa, America, Europe and Oceania). This list is not exhaustive.
1 course from list Students must complete at least one course from the following list:
  • MCM0220 Print Cultures: Textuality and the History of Books
  • MCM0230 Digital Media
  • MCM0240 Television Studies
  • MCM0250 Visuality and Visual Theories
  • MCM0260 Cinematic Coding and Narravity
  • MCM1110 The Theory of the Sign
3 courses numbered MCM1200 or MCM1500

At least one of these courses must be MCM1500.

MCM1200 Special Topics in Modern Culture and Media 
MCM1500 Senior Seminars in Modern Culture and Media 

NOTE: Topics vary from year to year and instructor to instructor.
4 practic courses

Practice courses must be selected in consultation with an advisor. Courses can be in any medium or combinatory sequence of media from the following departments: Modern Culture & Media, Visual Art, Music, Literary Arts, Theatre and Performance Studies, Computer Science, Engineering, supplemented by approved courses at Rhode Island School of Design and study abroad. (This list is not exhaustive.)

Practice based Honors students may substitute MCM1980 Honors Thesis/Project Research in Modern Culture and Media (Part 1) " for one of these 4 practice courses."
1 senior seminar MCM1700 Seminars in Production or other equivalent in production.

Double Concentrations:

Students who declare a double concentration may count up to two courses for concentration credit in MCM that are also counted towards concentration credit in another department or program.

Honors:  

Students who qualify for Honors in the Practice based track are eligible to apply to do an Honors project or thesis. Students should submit a letter of intent in their 6th semester, and a formal proposal, by the first day of their 7th semester.  Applications will be screened by the MCM Honors Committee. (Application forms are available in the MCM office.) If approved, a student must then register for MCM1980 (taken in the 7th semester), a one credit course which can count towards their Focus Area requirements, and MCM1990 (taken in the 8th semester), a one-credit thesis course in which they complete the Honors project/thesis.