Media and the Moving Image - University of Houston
Skip to main content

Media and the Moving Image

The Media and the Moving Image Initiative
aims to coordinate and enhance the University of Houston’s rich creative and critical programs in visual, literary, and media arts.

MMI logo

MMI logo

With resources ranging from production and research at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communications; a graduate certificate in Cinema Studies from World and Classical Languages; Art, Music, Theatre and Dance in the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts; digital media in the College of Technology; the Program in Creative Writing and numerous faculty throughout the humanities and social sciences, UH helps train new generations of the creative class whose vision and skills will shape the local and global culture.

In the news

What Is MMI?

Hear about MMI from CLASS Dean O'Connor, Valenti Director Vardeman, and others, in our new video!

Applications are now open for the 2025 Student Prize Competition

Announcing the Jurors for This Year's Student Prize Competition

 

Current Events

PAST EVENTS

  • February 21 11:30 am
    MMI Event

    Talk on “Trust, Humanistic AI, and Humanities Higher Education”

    “To Thine Own Self Be True”: Trust, Humanistic AI, and Humanities Higher Education

    Speaker: Dr. Alexa Alice Joubin, George Washington University

    As generative AI continues to influence higher education, this talk will explore trust dynamics between educators, students, and AI tools. Dr. Joubin will delve into how AI’s trustworthiness shapes ethical action and human-centered learning.

    View Flyer




  • February 6 4:30 - 7:00 pm
    MMI Event

    Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies

    Location: Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design Auditorium (150)
    Philosopher and Film Scholar Matthew Strohl (University of Montana) will discuss what it even means to say that a movie is "so bad it's good." In his book Why It's OK to Love Bad Movies (Routledge 2022), he claims there are two distinct (but often overlapping) practices of fandom surrounding bad movies, love and ridicule, and that "so bad it's good" has a different meaning for each of them.

  • November 3
    SWCAS Event

    When Waters Meet: A Roundtable Conversation with Writer Zhang Ling

    Date: November 3, 2023
    Time: 8:00 am - 9:00 am (CST)
    Location: Valenti School of Communication, 3347 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77004
    Description: Join us for a special creative forum at the 2023 Southwest Conference on Asian Studies. This virtual roundtable event will feature award-winning writer Zhang Ling, the bestselling author of “A Single Swallow,” alongside writers Weijie Pan and Raymond Chong. Together, they will delve into Zhang Ling’s debut English novel, “When Waters Meet,” which launched in May 2023.


  • November3
    SWCAS 2023

    Southwest Conference on Asian Studies Opening Ceremony

    Date: November 3, 2023
    Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm (CST)
    Location: UH Student Center South Ballroom (2nd floor)
    Description: The opening ceremony for the 52nd Southwest Conference on Asian Studies will feature welcome remarks by Daniel P. O’Connor, dean of the University of Houston College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, followed by a joint performance by UH Mariachi Pumas and Houston Chinese Orchestra. 

    This celebratory event is open to conference participants, as well as the Houston and University of Houston community. Chinese food will be provided.

  • November 2
    Bella Event

    Houston Debut Film Screening of Bella! This Woman’s Place is in the House

    Date: November 2, 2023
    Time: 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm (CST)
    Location: UH Student Center South Theater 4455 University Dr, Houston, TX 77204
    Description: s we near Election Day, see how Congresswoman Bella Abzug influenced a who’s who of women in politics and entertainment featured in this film from Hillary Clinton to Barbra Streisand.
    Bella! Post-Film Screening Q&A on Vimeo

  • June 16
    PIC

    Public Interest Communications Summer Institute

    Date: June 16, 2023
    Time: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm (CST)
    Location: Valenti School of Communication, 3347 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77004
    Description: Come be a part of a growing network of academics and practitioners who will gather in Houston, Texas, June 14-16, 2023, to learn, share and collaborate in building the emerging academic field of public interest communications! This is the second such summer institute the University of Florida is helping to organize as part of our work with the Public Interest Communications Educators Network to build the emerging academic field of public interest communications.

  • Apr 11
    Diplomacy

    The Diplomacy of Diplomatic Interpreting - A public lecture by Dr. Eva Ng

    Date: April 11, 2023
    Time: 3:30 - 5pm (CST)
    Location: Honors Commons, 2nd floor of M.D. Anderson Library
    Description: In this talk, Dr. Eva Ng (from the University of Hong Kong, currently a visiting scholar at Harvard) will talk about Diplomatic Interpretation. The event includes a reception, talk, and Q&A session. Asian snacks/food will be provided.

  • Nov 15-18
    Northman

    Film Screening and Panel Discussion of The Northman

    Screening: November 16, 2022
    Time: 5:00 pm
    Location: Student Center Theatre
     
    Discussion: November 18, 2022
    Time: 12:00 pm
    Location: Roy G. Cullen room 202
     
    Description: The panel will feature Professors Lorraine Stock and Daniel Davies. Lunch will be provided!
    Photo

  • Sep 21 5 pm
    Film Screening and Panel Discussion of GIRL

    Film Screening and Panel Discussion of GIRL

    Date: September 21, 2022
    Time: 5pm (CST)
    Location: Student Center Theatre
    Description: The screening starts at 5pm and will be followed by a panel discussion. This event is part of the Student Centers Film Series in collaboration with the School of Theatre & Dance.

  • April 1 11:30 a.m.
    Fork in the Road

    A Fork in the Road: Cosmopolitanism, Cookbooks, and Vietnamese Street Food

    Date: April 1st, 2022Time: 11:30 - 1:30 p.m. CST
    Location: South Space City, Student Center South

    This luncheon talk will be led by guest speaker Dr. Tim August (Stony Brook University) who will speak about Vietnamese street food! We will also serve Banh Mi and egg rolls! This event is supported and sponsored by UH MMI, MCL and Institute for Global Engagement.
    Photo

  • March 24 5:30 p.m.
    Green Knight

    Film Screening and Panel Discussion of The Green Knight

    Screening: March 24th, 2022 Time: 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. CST
    Location: Agnes Arnold Aud 1

    Discussion: March 25th, 2022 Time: 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. CST
    Location: Roy G. Cullen 202C

    The panel discussion will include lunch with Carly Boxer (Rice U), Esther Liberman Cuenca (UH Victoria), and Lorraine Stock (UH Main).
    Flyer

  • March 4 2 p.m.
    Colonial Taiwan

    Early Cinema in Colonial Taiwan

    Date: Friday, March 4th, 2022 Time: 2-4 p.m. CST
    Location: Multipurpose Room, the Quad

    Conversation with Dr. Laura Wen, catering food, and games! - Sponsored by UH MMI, MCL and Institute for Global Engagement, this event will feature a talk by guest speaker Laura Wen, Ph.D., food and games!
    Flyer

  • Jan 29 4 p.m.
    Farthest Out to Sea

    Farthest Out to Sea

    Date: Saturday, January 29, 2022 At a cèilidh for the closing reception for Farthest Out to Sea: Homer and Ireland, a two-day symposium sponsored by Classics and Irish Studies, members of Beyond the Pale perform their distinctive blend of Celtic and Americana music.

  • Nov 5
    Ecopoetics of the Gulf class

    Ecopoetics of the Gulf Class

    Date: Friday, November 5th, 2021

    Documentarian Elizabeth Coffman captures footage of students in Martha Serpas's Ecopoetics of the Gulf class, during a Galveston birding tour led by Audobon Society naturalist Alice Anne O’Donell

Affiliate Faculty

More than two dozen faculty from a variety of UH colleges and programs work and teach in fields related to media and the moving image. Our faculty include filmmakers and photographers, animators and performers, screenwriters and journalists, and film critics, scholars, and journalists.

Directory 
Temple Northup