Teaching

I am passionate about creating engaging learning experiences that bridge theory and practice, helping students develop critical thinking skills and real-world competencies. I have taught at Boston University, Emerson College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, Pomona College, and Pasadena Art Center.

Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

Learning, at its best, is an act of courage — and my classroom is built around that conviction. I hold students to genuine intellectual rigor not as severity, but as a form of respect: ideas deserve our fullest effort, and half-examined thinking is a missed conversation. That rigor lives alongside hands-on, collaborative work, because the most important breakthroughs I have witnessed happened in the middle of making something together — a failed prototype, a collapsed argument rebuilt from scratch, a conjecture that turned out to be wrong and instructive. Creativity thrives in exactly that space, and I try to model it by bringing unfinished thinking into the room, changing my mind out loud, and asking questions I cannot yet answer. What holds all of this together is generosity — toward struggle, toward strange ideas, toward failure — because risk-taking is the engine of real learning, and my job is to make this space worthy of the leap.

Current Courses

JO 502

AI + Journalism

Artificial intelligence now sits inside every layer of the news ecosystem—from sourcing and verification to distribution, metrics, and monetization. This course examines how these technologies reshape journalism’s workflows, ethics, labor, and democratic purpose. Students will learn the technical basics of contemporary AI systems, experiment with tools used in real newsrooms, and interrogate the social, political, and economic implications of automation in media. The course blends hands-on production with critical theory.

Spring 2026, Fall 2026
CO 540

Media and Social Impact Practicum

Media Innovation & Social Impact Practicum (MiSIP) is a practice-oriented course that bridges academic study and real-world engagement by placing students directly alongside community partners. Rather than examining media's role in social change from a distance, students gain hands-on experience navigating the challenges and opportunities of impact-driven media work in collaboration with practitioners already doing it. Through this embedded partnership model, students develop professional skills, build meaningful relationships across sectors, and contribute substantively to ongoing initiatives — leaving the course not only with a deeper understanding of how media can advance social good, but with the experience and portfolio to prove it.

Fall 2026

Past Courses

Codesign Studio

Undergraduate course on collaborative design methodologies.

Undergraduate

Collaborative Documentary

Undergraduate course on documentary filmmaking and collaboration.

Undergraduate

The Future of Work, School, and Everything

Undergraduate seminar exploring technological impacts on society.

Undergraduate

Media Theory and Criticism

Undergraduate course taught at Emerson Prison Initiative, Concord, MA.

Undergraduate

Participatory Research and Design

Undergraduate course on participatory design methods.

Undergraduate

Games for Social Change

Undergraduate course exploring games as tools for civic engagement.

Undergraduate

Ubiquitous Media

Undergraduate course on pervasive and location-based media.

Undergraduate

The Allure of Multitasking

Undergraduate course examining attention and distraction in a digital world.

Undergraduate

Studies in Digital Media and Culture

Undergraduate course on digital media theory and practice.

Undergraduate

Aesthetics and History of New Media

Undergraduate course on new media aesthetics and historical development.

Undergraduate

History of Media Arts

Undergraduate survey of contemporary media arts history.

Undergraduate

Invisible Cities

Undergraduate course exploring urban space and digital media.

Undergraduate

Introduction to Media Studies

Undergraduate foundation course in media studies.

Undergraduate

Technology, Trust, and Governance

Graduate seminar on technology and democratic governance.

Graduate

Games for Social Change

Graduate course exploring games as tools for civic engagement.

Graduate

Civic Media Co-Design Studio

Graduate studio course on participatory design for civic engagement.

Graduate

Politics of Care and Empathy

Graduate seminar examining care and empathy in civic contexts.

Graduate

Civic Media Seminar

Graduate seminar on civic media theory and practice.

Graduate

Theories of Integrated Media

Graduate course on integrated media theory.

Graduate

Studies in Digital Media and Culture

Graduate course on digital media theory and cultural analysis.

Graduate

Aesthetics and History of New Media

Graduate course on new media aesthetics and historical development.

Graduate

Brechtian Cinema

Graduate course on Brechtian theory and cinematic practice.

Graduate

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Eric Gordon

Eric Gordon

@ericjgordon