The Critical Themes in Media Studies Conference is an annual event that presents interdisciplinary, theoretical and critical approaches to a broad range of media studies. On October 12th, a series of panels showcased academic presentations by Graduate students of The New School's Media Studies program and the Graduate Faculty. Featured topics included globalization, popular culture, public sphere, cyberspace, representation, identity, media theory, and visual culture. Each year The New School's Graduate Program in Media Studies sponsors this event to encourage diverse perspectives in modern media.

Noted media theorist and author Toby Miller provided the keynote address. Mr. Miller is a key theoretical voice in the world of media and cultural studies. He has published several works on the subject and been awarded New York University's Paulette Goddard Junior Faculty Fellowship and the Henry Mayer Memorial Essay Prize. Mr. Miller is currently Professor of Cultural Studies and Cultural Policy at New York University and the author and editor of fourteen books. His most recent book on media, Technologies of Truth: Cultural Citizenship In the Popular Media, was published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1998. He is the Editor of the journal Television & New Media and was previously Editor of Social Text.

The conference was held at the New School University, Graduate Faculty Building (65 Fifth Avenue).