About
About
The Critical Media Lab (CML) provides resources for faculty and students working in documentary arts and multimodal anthropology.
The Critical Media Lab (CML) provides resources for faculty and students working in documentary arts and multimodal anthropology.
Housed in McGill University’s Department of Anthropology, and part of the Leadership for the Ecozoic network, the CML offers classes in sensory and sonic ethnography, practical workshops in video, film, and sound, audiovisual equipment, screenings, artist talks and round-table discussions for members of the McGill community wishing to incorporate practice-based approaches into their teaching and research. Committed to fostering innovative pedagogical approaches and strategies for knowledge production and dissemination, the CML’s programming and training engages students and faculty in thinking critically about media, questioning traditional means of representation, and searching for more effective ways to convey the pressing ecological, ethical and political problems of our historical moment.
Housed in McGill University’s Department of Anthropology, and part of the Leadership for the Ecozoic network, the CML offers classes in sensory and sonic ethnography, practical workshops in video, film, and sound, audiovisual equipment, screenings, artist talks and round-table discussions for members of the McGill community wishing to incorporate practice-based approaches into their teaching and research. Committed to fostering innovative pedagogical approaches and strategies for knowledge production and dissemination, the CML’s programming and training engages students and faculty in thinking critically about media, questioning traditional means of representation, and searching for more effective ways to convey the pressing ecological, ethical and political problems of our historical moment.
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
The CML was founded by co-directors Lisa Stevenson and Diana Allan. Julian Flavin acts as the lab’s Associate Director and Multimedia Trainer.
The CML was founded by co-directors Lisa Stevenson and Diana Allan. Julian Flavin acts as the lab’s Associate Director and Multimedia Trainer.
Lisa Stevenson, co-director
Lisa Stevenson, co-director
Lisa Stevenson is an Associate Professor, William Dawson Scholar and co-director of the Critical Media Lab in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University. In recent years, a central focus of her work has been the question of what it means to think in images. Through experimental ethnographic writing, filmmaking and theatre as modes of representation she has attempted to trace and describe such imagistic forms of thought in the everyday lives of people in situations of violence—among the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic and among Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Her book Life Beside Itself: Imagining Care in the Canadian Arctic (University of California Press, 2014) won the 2015 Victor Turner Book Prize and the 2020 Staley Prize. Her short film, Into Unknown Parts, created in collaboration with Eduardo Kohn, premiered at the Margaret Mead Film Festival in NYC in 2017
Lisa Stevenson is an Associate Professor, William Dawson Scholar and co-director of the Critical Media Lab in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University. In recent years, a central focus of her work has been the question of what it means to think in images. Through experimental ethnographic writing, filmmaking and theatre as modes of representation she has attempted to trace and describe such imagistic forms of thought in the everyday lives of people in situations of violence—among the Inuit in the Canadian Arctic and among Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Her book Life Beside Itself: Imagining Care in the Canadian Arctic (University of California Press, 2014) won the 2015 Victor Turner Book Prize and the 2020 Staley Prize. Her short film, Into Unknown Parts, created in collaboration with Eduardo Kohn, premiered at the Margaret Mead Film Festival in NYC in 2017
Diana Allan, co-director
Diana Allan, co-director
Diana Allan is a filmmaker and associate professor of anthropology, and co-founder of the Nakba Archive, which has documented histories of Palestinian exile in Lebanon. She is the author of Refugees of the Revolution: Experiences of Palestinian Exile (2014), Voices of the Nakba: A Living History of Palestine (2021), and her films include Still Life (2007), Terrace of the Sea (2010), So Dear, So Lovely (2018) and Partition (2025). She holds a Canada Research Chair in the Anthropology of Living Archives.
Diana Allan is a filmmaker and associate professor of anthropology, and co-founder of the Nakba Archive, which has documented histories of Palestinian exile in Lebanon. She is the author of Refugees of the Revolution: Experiences of Palestinian Exile (2014), Voices of the Nakba: A Living History of Palestine (2021), and her films include Still Life (2007), Terrace of the Sea (2010), So Dear, So Lovely (2018) and Partition (2025). She holds a Canada Research Chair in the Anthropology of Living Archives.
Julian Flavin, Associate Director
& Multimedia Trainer
Julian Flavin, Associate Director & Multimedia Trainer
Julian Flavin is an artist and educator who works as the Associate Director of McGill University’s Critical Media Lab. His projects spanning music, documentary filmmaking, installation, and writing have been featured at SXSW, Osheaga Music Festival, The Tinguely Museum, Chicago Artists Coalition, The University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, and NYU’s Gallatin Galleries among others. Films and installations featuring his post-production sound work have screened at MoMA, IFFRotterdam, Cinema du Réel, the Viennale, DOK Leipzig, RIDM, Gallery 400, Union Docs, Visions du Réel, and Art of The Real among others. He has taught courses at Northwestern University, McGill University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Julian Flavin is an artist and educator who works as the Associate Director of McGill University’s Critical Media Lab. His projects spanning music, documentary filmmaking, installation, and writing have been featured at SXSW, Osheaga Music Festival, The Tinguely Museum, Chicago Artists Coalition, The University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art, and NYU’s Gallatin Galleries among others. Films and installations featuring his post-production sound work have screened at MoMA, IFFRotterdam, Cinema du Réel, the Viennale, DOK Leipzig, RIDM, Gallery 400, Union Docs, Visions du Réel, and Art of The Real among others. He has taught courses at Northwestern University, McGill University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Tamer Hassan, 2025/2026 CML Artist in Residence
Tamer Hassan, 2025/2026 CML Artist in Residence
Tamer Hassan is an artist and filmmaker whose work explores how social and historical contexts shape perception. His films guide attention, creating a space where seeing alongside others can alert us to what exceeds our understanding. His work has shown at festivals and venues worldwide including Viennale, Cinéma du Réel, Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real, Courtisane, and Punto de Vista, and he has exhibited in art spaces such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje, Lithium Gallery (Chicago), Mana Contemporary (Chicago), and Articule (Montréal). He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Parsons School of Design and is currently Artist in Residence at the Critical Media Lab in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University. He also works regularly as an editor on short and feature films.
Tamer Hassan is an artist and filmmaker whose work explores how social and historical contexts shape perception. His films guide attention, creating a space where seeing alongside others can alert us to what exceeds our understanding. His work has shown at festivals and venues worldwide including Viennale, Cinéma du Réel, Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real, Courtisane, and Punto de Vista, and he has exhibited in art spaces such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje, Lithium Gallery (Chicago), Mana Contemporary (Chicago), and Articule (Montréal). He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Parsons School of Design and is currently Artist in Residence at the Critical Media Lab in the Department of Anthropology at McGill University. He also works regularly as an editor on short and feature films.
Thalia Danielson, Research Assistant
Thalia Danielson,
Research Assistant
Thalia Danielson is a Research assistant for the Critical Media Lab. She is currently a Master’s student in Anthropology at McGill University. Working with street circus performers in Palermo, Italy, her research inquires into questions of rhythm, narrative, semiotics, and the senses. She is currently producing a sensory ethnographic film that explores how street circus performers weave and invite audiences into rhythms, and how these rhythms transform social relations.
Thalia Danielson is a Research assistant for the Critical Media Lab. She is currently a Master’s student in Anthropology at McGill University. Working with street circus performers in Palermo, Italy, her research inquires into questions of rhythm, narrative, semiotics, and the senses. She is currently producing a sensory ethnographic film that explores how street circus performers weave and invite audiences into rhythms, and how these rhythms transform social relations.
Ségolène Guinard, Critical Media Club Co-Lead
Ségolène Guinard, Critical Media Club Co-Lead
Ségolène Guinard is the co-lead of the Critical Media Club and a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology. With a focus on a Mexican telescope, she explores the economy and ecology of images in the context of contemporary astrophysics.
Ségolène Guinard is the co-lead of the Critical Media Club and a PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology. With a focus on a Mexican telescope, she explores the economy and ecology of images in the context of contemporary astrophysics.
