My Experience in Documentary - Alex Holmes - Writer, Producer and Director
Alex has been responsible as producer/director/writer for three major pieces of recent UK television history: In 1999 he was the series editor of the groundbreaking series Macintyre Undercover; In 2004, Dunkirk told the human stories of the Dunkirk landing in factual drama form; and his latest offering is House of Saddam which was based on 2 years of research.
In this Conversation, Alex comes to Coventry fresh from Los Angeles and London to talk about the latest drama.
21L.472 Major European Novels (MIT)
This subject traces the history of the European novel by studying texts that have been influential in connection with two interrelated ideas. (1) When serious fiction deals with matters of great consequence, it should not deal with the actions of persons of consequence—kings, princes, high elected officials and the like—but rather with the lives of apparently ordinary people and the everyday details of their social ambitions and desires. To use a phrase of Balzac's, serious fiction d
21F.059 European Thought and Culture (MIT)
This subject surveys main currents of European cultural and intellectual history in the modern period. Such a foundation course is central to the humanities in Europe. The curriculum introduces a set of ideas and arguments that have played a formative role in European cultural history, and acquaints them with some exemplars of critical thought. Among the topics to be considered: the critique of religion, the promise of independence, the advance of capitalism, the temptations of Marxism, the orig
21L.017 The Art of the Probable: Literature and Probability (MIT)
"The Art of the Probable" addresses the history of scientific ideas, in particular the emergence and development of mathematical probability. But it is neither meant to be a history of the exact sciences per se nor an annex to, say, the Course 6 curriculum in probability and statistics. Rather, our objective is to focus on the formal, thematic, and rhetorical features that imaginative literature shares with texts in the history of probability. These shared issues include (but are not limited to)
HST.939 Designing and Sustaining Technology Innovation for Global Health Practice (MIT)
Innovation in global health practice requires leaders who are trained to think and act like entrepreneurs. Whether at a hospital bedside or in a remote village, global healthcare leaders must understand both the business of running a social venture as well as how to plan for and provide access to life saving medicines and essential health services.
Each week, the course features a lecture and skills-based tutorial session led by industry, non-profit foundation, technology, and academic leaders t
17.486 Japan and East Asian Security (MIT)
This subject is designed for graduate students interested in international politics, national security and comparative political economy in East Asia. It examines the political, military, and economic challenges facing Japan, its neighbors, and the international system under conditions of great uncertainty. Topics range from the history of once "new" world orders to theories that inform our understanding of international affairs and foreign policy decision-making, as each is related to Japan. We
History on TV - Laurence Rees
Laurence Rees is Creative Director of BBC Television History programmes and was also, for ten years (1992 to 2002), editor of Timewatch the BBC’s Historical Documentary strand. Under his editorship Timewatch won a host of awards including 3 Emmys. Hear him in conversation with John Mair, reflecting on the huge success of his series, Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution.
21W.742J Writing About Race: Narratives of Multiraciality (MIT)
In this course we will read essays, novels, memoirs, and graphic texts, and view documentary and experimental films and videos which explore race from the standpoint of the multiracial. Examining the varied work of multiracial authors and filmmakers such as Danzy Senna, Ruth Ozeki, Kip Fulbeck, James McBride and others, we will focus not on how multiracial people are seen or imagined by the dominant culture, but instead on how they represent themselves. How do these authors approach issues of fa
12.842 Past and Present Climate (MIT)
This course introduces students to climate studies, including beginnings of the solar system, time scales, and climate in human history. It is offered to both undergraduate and graduate students with different requirements.
STS.436 Cold War Science (MIT)
This seminar examines the history and legacy of the Cold War on American science. It explores scientist's new political roles after World War II, ranging from elite policy makers in the nuclear age to victims of domestic anti Communism. It also examines the changing institutions in which the physical sciences and social sciences were conducted during the postwar decades, investigating possible epistemic effects on forms of knowledge. The subject closes by considering the place of science in the
14.731 Economic History (MIT)
This course is a survey of world economic history, and it introduces economics students to the subject matter and methodology of economic history. It is designed to expand the range of empirical settings in students' research by drawing upon historical material and long-run data. Topics are chosen to show a wide variety of historical experience and illuminate the process of industrialization. The emphasis will be on questions related to labor markets and economic growth.
SP.269 Passing: Flexibility in Race and Gender (MIT)
This course is primarily a literature seminar. We will use American literature as a lens through which to examine different passing tropes. It will provide an introduction to queer, gender, and critical race theories for science and math majors. We will read such works as Running A Thousand Miles for Freedom, Incognegro, and Focault's A History of Sexuality, to name just a few.
STS.330J History and Anthropology of Medicine and Biology (MIT)
This course explores recent historical and anthropological approaches to the study of life, in both medicine and biology. After grounding our conversation in accounts of natural history and medicine that predate the rise of biology as a discipline, we explore modes of theorizing historical and contemporary bioscience. Drawing on the work of historian William Coleman, we examine the forms, functions, and transformations of biological and medical objects of study. Along the way we treat the histor
24.06J Bioethics (MIT)
This course does not seek to provide answers to ethical questions. Instead, the course hopes to teach students two things. First, how do you recognize ethical or moral problems in science and medicine? When something does not feel right (whether cloning, or failing to clone) — what exactly is the nature of the discomfort? What kind of tensions and conflicts exist within biomedicine? Second, how can you think productively about ethical and moral problems? What processes create them? Why do
2.500 Desalination and Water Purification (MIT)
Water supply is a problem of worldwide concern: more than 1 billion people do not have reliable access to clean drinking water. Water is a particular problem for the developing world, but scarcity also impacts industrial societies. Water purification and desalination technology can be used to convert brackish ground water or seawater into drinking water. The challenge is to do so sustainably, with minimum cost and energy consumption, and with appropriately accessible technologies.
This subject w
17.537 Politics and Policy in Contemporary Japan (MIT)
This subject is designed for upper level undergraduates and graduate students as an introduction to politics and the policy process in modern Japan. The semester is divided into two parts. After a two-week general introduction to Japan and to the dominant approaches to the study of Japanese history, politics and society, we will begin exploring five aspects of Japanese politics: party politics, electoral politics, interest group politics, bureaucratic politics, and policy, which will be broken u
21A.226 Ethnic and National Identity (MIT)
An introduction to the cross-cultural study of ethnic and national identity. We examine the concept of social identity, and consider the ways in which gendered, linguistic, religious, and ethno-racial identity components interact. We explore the history of nationalism, including the emergence of the idea of the nation-state, as well as ethnic conflict, globalization, identity politics, and human rights.
21A.348 Photography and Truth (MIT)
Still photography, a practice and form of expression that has worked its way into every facet of social life and every culture in the world, is considered here from the perspectives of history and social science. We will discuss the uses and functions of pictures; how they are to be understood and interpreted; whether they have clear-cut content and meanings; how they shape and are shaped by politics, economics, and social life.
4.607 Thinking About Architecture: In History and at Present (MIT)
This class will be constructed as a lecture-discussion, the purpose being to engage important theoretical issues while simultaneously studying their continuing historical significance. To enhance discussion, three debates will be held in class. Each student will be required to participate in one of these debates. Each student will also be required to write three short papers. Class participation is essential and will be factored into the final grade.The course will portray the history of theory
21M.380 Music and Technology (Contemporary History and Aesthetics) (MIT)
This course is an investigation into the history and aesthetics of music and technology as deployed in experimental and popular musics from the 19th century to the present. Through original research, creative hands-on projects, readings, and lectures, the following topics will be explored. The history of radio, audio recording, and the recording studio, as well as the development of musique concrète and early electronic instruments. The creation and extension of musical interfaces by composers
