Category Archives: Spring 2026

Modern Artifacts: Interactive Public Art for the People (ITPG-GT 3005)

In an era of remote everything, how can we create artwork that brings us back together IRL? This course explores our connection to physical objects within the context of community. How can sculpture, installation, immersive, and public art nurture our neighborhoods via collaboration, play, ritual, self-expression, and awe? Students will work collaboratively to radically imagine bold, sculptural, immersive works using innovative and lo-if techniques integrated with technology. Hands-on workshops include experiments creating found sculptures, AR prototypes, projection mapping, real-time interactive multimedia content, and more. We’ll reference ancient monuments, sacred objects, NYC relics, street art and contemporary works to envision new artifacts that create awareness by reflecting the needs of our communities. Prerequisite: Comm Lab: Hypercinema About Ali Santana: http://www.alisantana.com/bio

Graduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 15328
Section #: 001
Meets: M 12:20-2:50p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Art & Design) IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Media & Entertainment) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Code Your Way (ITPG-GT 3007)

This course helps students sharpen their coding skills and put them to work on a shared focus. The focus this semester is climate. The first half of the semester revisits core programming concepts and builds a toolkit for developing code-driven projects: algorithmic thinking, debugging, version control, and working with generative AI while weighing its environmental costs. Alongside this, students develop climate literacy, including the solutions that already exist and the challenge of communicating them. In the second half, the class shifts to a studio format. Working individually or in small teams, students develop projects in response to the work of a local partner (to be announced), with the aim of making something useful beyond the classroom. Throughout, students reflect on their process and cultivate the understanding to direct their own work, with or without AI. The course follows directly from Introduction to Computational Media (ICM) and is open to anyone looking to advance their coding practice. Examples are provided in JavaScript using p5.js; students may consult the instructor about working with another library, framework, or language.

Graduate

Class #
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Meets

Class #: 15329
Section #: 001
Meets: M 9:30a-12p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Programming & Data) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Biophilic Experiences – activating our sensory relationship to nature (ITPG-GT 2361)

As the scale of human impact on global climate and ecosystems deepens, we see the need to alter our trajectory, to be more inclusive of other species in our imagining of the future. This class sets out to investigate the relationships we humans have with nature and non-human animals, to dive deep into the meaning and utility of being in relationship, and ultimately to translate these ideas into tangible, multimedia experiences that expose a larger audience to a multi-species worldview. This class sits at the intersection of art, science, and technology. It combines studio practice and research with example case studies and critical texts. Together, we will meet artists, designers and scientists who build multispecies futures through urban ecology, biology, and public art. This class is for students who are eager to develop XD (experience design) and storytelling skills. The course follows a research-driven process that results in a design proposal and proof-of-concept that can be pitched to a public arts org. Keywords: bioArt, interactive installations, experience design, research, eco-activism

Graduate

Class #
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Meets

Class #: 15308
Section #: 001
Meets: R 3:20-5:50p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Art & Design) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Through the Lens: Modalities of AR (ITPG-GT 2368)

In this course, students will explore the fundamentals of augmented reality by dissecting the interaction between camera, computer, and user. Each week we will focus on a different AR modality: image, face, body, environment, and object, and consider their real-world applications. Through weekly explorations, we will examine the existing affordances of AR as well as their impact. This course will culminate in a final project, and our tool of choice will be Lens Studio. Course syllabus: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wMWVnDdzgz2bbsCNp7jRAiCe1job4glq61o67sWAP00/edit?usp=sharing

Graduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 18275
Section #: 001
Meets: W 6-8:30p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Media & Entertainment) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Future Mapper (ITPG-GT 2362)

As you know, projection mapping and Light Art are becoming popular again because of large-scale pop-up installations worldwide: ARTECHOUSE, SuperReal, Meow Wolf, and TeamLab. Technology has advanced over the years, but how people enjoy light art have not changed so much. How do your ideas and artwork fit into these site-specific installations? This class is for anyone interested in creating a site-specific installation using mapping technologies to create new experiences for the public audience. This class guides students through conceptual and technical processes of project and artist development. It consists of three parts: Project & Artist Development, Projection Mapping, and LED Mapping. We will research and discuss the history of visual artwork, public engagement, and technical exercises using real international contests and festival sites. The student will learn the latest Projection and LED Mapping techniques using Madmapper. And we will also focus on advanced techniques like multi-projector projection, projector calculation, Interactive Mapping, and software & hardware to culminate in a final project. The class will also invite guest speakers to discuss the nuts and bolts of their art and business. About Chika Iijima: www.mappathon.com, www.imagima.com

Graduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 15309
Section #: 001
Meets: T 3:20-5:50p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Media & Entertainment) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Web Art as Site (ITPG-GT 2094)

WEB ART AS SITE addresses the history and practice of art made for and inseparable from the web, while teaching basic coding for the web. We explore key examples of web art from the early days of the internet through today, asking questions about this idiosyncratic artistic medium like: How do different forms of interaction characterize the viewer and/or the artist? What happens to our reading practice when text is animated or animates? How is an internet-native work encountered, and how does the path we take to reach it affect our reading? Who is able to see a work of web art, and what does access/privilege look like in this landscape? How are differently-abled people considered in a web artwork? What feels difficult or aggressive in web art, and when is that useful? How do artists obscure or reveal the duration of a work, and how does that affect our reading? What are the many different forms of instruction or guidance online? As we ask these questions, we exploit the internet pedagogically, collaborating online, playing with anonymity, and breaking the internet spaces we know. Students learn web coding through specialized online tutorials; most of class time is reserved for discussion (of web art and supplementary readings) and critique. Throughout the semester, students will produce two major works of web art. Students need only a standard laptop, and will not be expected to purchase any software or text (cost of materials: $0).

Graduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 15303
Section #: 001
Meets: R 12:20-2:50p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Art & Design) IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Programming & Data) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

CAD for Virtual and Reality (ITPG-GT 2086)

The goal of this class is to gain an understanding and proficiency with Computer Aided Design (CAD). We will become familiar with CAD software, mechanical design, and simulation. The class will cover common CAD modeling techniques. We will use our designs to get physical parts made as well as use them in virtual projects. We will create parts both real and impossible.

Graduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 15304
Section #: 001
Meets: W 6-8:30p

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Media & Entertainment) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Haptics (ITPG-GT 2457)

From the crass rattle of early pager motors to the sophisticated clicks and purrs of the iPhone Taptic engine, the ability to buzz has increasingly worked its way into our devices. This course focuses on physical prototyping and interaction design for non-visual feedback. Specifically, it will explore how haptic feedback can be utilized and integrated into handhelds, wearables, objects, and environments – anything that we touch or that touches us. Traditional tools such as eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors, linear resonance actuators (LRAs), and haptic motor drivers will be introduced as well as less conventional methods such as gentle poking, prodding, warming, cooling, squeezing, and tickling. Through hands-on experimentation and a review of research to date, students will emerge from this course well-positioned to incorporate haptic feedback into their future projects. Note: This course is designed for students who have previous experience with physical computing and Arduino.

Graduate

Class #
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Meets

Class #: 23789
Section #: 001
Meets: Does Not Meet

Graduate IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Physical Computing & Experimental Interfaces) Spring 2026 Spring 2027

Design with Climate Change (ARTS-UG 1636)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue

The course explores how design can respond to environmental problems and climate change. In analyzing past attempts, the course starts with decolonizing turn of the century admirations for primitivism and ends with the cyber punks planning new environments online. Following the work of architects, artists, urban planners, graphic designers and fashionista, the course will review histories of adaptation and ways to design with climate. The class will decolonize modernist design schemes, and focus on better ways to design with climate. We will also devote time to discuss topics such as building closed ecological systems, counterculture designs, cyber environments, sick building syndrome, biomimetics, eco-fashion, earth art, and other methods to design within the realm of nature. The overall objective is twofold; to survey the larger historical context of ecological design and define specific contributions to the climate change debate. Ultimately, the students will be asked to design, develop, and participate in an ecologically driven conceptual final design project of their choice.

Arts Workshops (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

General Elective Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Foundations of Technology Management (MG-UY 1002)

Credits: 2
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Wed
Credits: 2
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Wed,Fri

This course introduces the principles and practices of management. Management is viewed as a system of tasks and activities, including environmental scanning, planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Within each major task, is a series of processes, which show how to do what has to be done. Management is a science and an art; both aspects of management are covered in this course. Areas covered are management history, philosophy and the theory and practice of management planning, decision making, organizing, motivating and leading. Special emphasis is on providing the technical and managerial challenges presented by emerging and transformative technologies. Particular consideration is given to the managerial options available to both legacy and entrepreneurial organizations.

Management (Undergraduate)
2 credits – 15 Weeks

Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Global Media Seminar: Sydney, Australia (MCC-UE 9456)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Thu

This seminar addresses global media developments in the context of key theoretical frameworks. Topics include: the disruption of information flows; challenges to democracy; distrust in journalism; the rise of social platforms; gender and diversity biases; ethics and regulation; fake news and deep fakes; the erosion of privacy; citizen journalism; cancel culture; hacktivism and digital activism; #metoo and #blacklivesmatter; the metaverse and VR/AR; Web 3.0 and blockchain; and generative AI. The focus is international, with an emphasis on Australia.

Media, Culture & Communication (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Social Media Practicum (MCC-UE 9032)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Tue,Thu

In this workshop-based course, students will become well versed in contemporary debates on social media and its impact on self and society, share their own experiences and observations in this area, design an original research project (using methods such as discourse analysis, virtual ethnography, and interviewing), and write a long-form analysis paper.

Media, Culture & Communication (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Seminar/Studies) Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Video Game Economies (MCC-UE 9008)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed

The course approaches video games through the lens of political economy. This means examining games foremost as commodities, transactional goods through which various modes of economic life occur. This course is designed to introduce students to the structure and economics of the game industry since its emergence in the 1970s, particularly across the United States, China, and Japan. Special attention is brought to the dramatic industry changes catalyzed by digital distribution, mobile gaming, live streaming, and other contemporary developments.

Media, Culture & Communication (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Seminar/Studies) Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Rethinking Public Relations (MCC-UE 1750)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue
Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Tue,Mon

Public relations means different things to different things to different people but it has one undeniable element: communication. This course is concerned with arranging, handling, and evaluating public relations programs. Students work with actual case histories and deal with contemporary topics such as the use of the computer in public relations.

Media, Culture & Communication (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

The Western History of Madness from the Bible to DSM-5 (IDSEM-UG 1961)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Fri

Viewed as a natural kind or socially constructed, “madness” was defined and treated, examined and controlled, diagnosed and cured according to the spirit of the time. This course follows the varied social imageries of “madness” throughout Western history, from the Hebrew Bible to the contemporary and controversial Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM), also known as “the bible of psychiatry”, in its most recent 5th edition. Students read primary and secondary texts by philosophers, physicians, theologians, jurists, tragedians, novelists, psychologists, social reformers, policy makers, journalists, historians and individuals who suffered madness, known as “experts by experience.” They also observe art and watch films that portray different aspects of madness. Reading includes: the Bible, Plato, Hippocrates, Ibn Sina, Maimonides, Margery Kempe, Erasmus, Robert Burton, Freud, George Canguilhem, Foucault, Ian Hacking, Elaine Showalter among others. The course explores the interaction between the social, cultural, scientific, political as well as economic factors that have shaped the views of “madness” and its treatment while paying ample attention to the history of ideas that informed and, often, framed them.

Interdisciplinary Seminars (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

Introduction to 3D (FMTV-UT 1110)

This is an introductory course to the fundamentals of 3D computer animation. Through in-depth discussions and hands-on assignments, students will gain a thorough beginner’s understanding of the 3D production process. Using industry-leading Autodesk Maya running on high-end Mac Pro workstations, students will learn the basics of modeling and proceed through UV layout, texturing, rigging, animation, lighting and final render. At the end of the class students will have completed a series of exercises that will culminate in a final scene that showcases all they learned.This course allocates as a Craft for Film & TV majors. COURSE SUBJECT TO DEPARTMENTAL FEES.

Undergraduate

Class #
Section #
Meets

Class #: 16706
Section #: 001
Meets: W 11a-1:45p


Class #: 16707
Section #: 002
Meets: R 6:20-9p

Fall 2025 Fall 2026 IMA Electives IMA Electives (Legacy Structure - Media & Entertainment) Spring 2025 Spring 2026 Spring 2027 Summer 2026 Undergraduate

Fundamentals of Machine Learning (CSCI-UA 9473)

Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon
Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed
Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Mon,Wed

Machine learning is an exciting and fast-moving field of computer science with many recent consumer applications (e.g., Microsoft Kinect, Google Translate, Iphone’s Siri, digital camera face detection, Netflix recommendations, Google news) and applications within the sciences and medicine (e.g., predicting protein-protein interactions, species modeling, detecting tumors, personalized medicine). This course introduces undergraduate computer science students to the field of machine learning. Students learn about the theoretical foundations of machine learning and how to apply machine learning to solve new problems. Assuming no prior knowledge in machine learning, the course focuses on two major paradigms in machine learning which are supervised and unsupervised learning. In supervised learning, we learn various methods for classification and regression. Dimensionality reduction and clustering are discussed in the case of unsupervised learning

Computer Science (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks

Fall 2025 Spring 2026 Undergraduate

World Dance and Global Perspectives (ARTS-UG 1212)

Credits: 4
Duration: 15 Weeks
Dates: Thu

Dance reflects cultural heritage and is a key to understanding diverse societies. In this arts workshop, students explore dance as it appears on several continents. Dance can be seen as encoded forms of a society’s religious, artistic, political, economic, and familial values. Readings cover issues of globalization, fusion and authenticity. Migration, missionaries, trade routes and the diaspora have led to the creation of new dance forms like “Bollywood” and “Tribal” that are a synthesis of earlier forms. Students are introduced to different dance forms through selected readings, rich collection of video footage and studio practice often lead by various guest artists. After a brief warm-up, the class learns simple steps, floor plans and rhythms from the music and dance cultures being studied. Students choose a dance form as their project and themselves become researchers, performers and creators of new forms.

Arts Workshops (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Spring 2026 Undergraduate