Course Schedule and Catalog
Course Schedule - Spring Semester 2027
Meeting location information can now be found on student schedules in ESTHER (for students) or on the Course Roster in ESTHER (for faculty and instructors).Additional information available here.
Meeting location information can now be found on student schedules in ESTHER (for students) or on the Course Roster in ESTHER (for faculty and instructors).Additional information available here.
MDIA 212 001 (CRN: 26875)
CINEMA AND SURVEILLANCE
Long Title: CINEMA AND SURVEILLANCE: THE POLITICS OF PERSONHOOD
Department: Media Studies
Instructor: Blumenthal-Barby, Martin
Meeting: 1:00PM - 2:15PM TR (11-JAN-2027 - 23-APR-2027)
Part of Term: Full Term
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Language of Instruction: Taught in English
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Method of Instruction: Face to Face
Credit Hours: 3
Course Syllabus:
Course Materials: Rice Campus Store
Restrictions:
Must be enrolled in one of the following Level(s):
Undergraduate Professional
Visiting Undergraduate
Undergraduate
Section Max Enrollment: 6
Section Enrolled: 0
Total Cross-list Max Enrollment: 12
Total Cross-list Enrolled: 0
Waitlisted: 0 (Max 198)
Current members of the waitlist have priority for available seats.
Enrollment data as of: 2-NOV-2026 6:17AM
Final Exam: No Final Exam
Description: This course approaches surveillance not simply as a technology of observation, but as a historical process through which personhood is produced, stabilized, and transformed. Through film, media art, and critical theory, the course traces a shift from visual forms of surveillance to contemporary systems of data extraction and artificial intelligence, using surveillance as one framework for examining broader questions of identity, agency, autonomy, and the changing status of the human subject in digital culture. Cross-list: GERM 212.