Explore digital cultures research at a celebration co-hosted by six of York’s Faculties in collaboration with the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation on Friday, Dec. 6.
The event highlights the research of five York professors, a University Librarian and a former graduate student on topics ranging from sound, affect and digital communities, copyright in the digital domain, augmented reality storytelling, social media and oral culture at Ugandan heritage sites, digital technology design and librarian and information systems.
“This research celebration provides an opportunity for members of the York community to learn more about the breadth of Digital Cultures research at the University,” said Robert Haché, vice-president research & innovation. “Throughout the upcoming year, we will continue to highlight research in the five areas of opportunity for the strategic development of research, as described in the new Strategic Research Plan, Building on Strength.”
Students, faculty and staff are invited to the celebration, from 2 to 4pm in the CIBC Lobby, Accolade East Building. The event will feature mini-research byte presentations followed by Q&As from the audience.
Featured presenters are Faculty of Fine Arts Professor Caitlin Fisher, Canada Research Chair in Digital Culture; Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Carys Craig; Faculty of Education Professor Mary Leigh Morbey, associate director of the Institute for Research on Learning Technologies, with Mary Pat O’Meara; Stacy Allison-Cassin, associate librarian, York University Libraries; Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Professor David Cecchetto; and Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Melanie Baljko.
Caitlin Fisher
Fisher will speak about “Augmented Reality Storytelling: Emerging Tools and Practices.” Her talk will explore expressive tools for augmented reality content creation, both custom tools developed in York University's AR Lab and a new generation of easy-to-use commercial tools, workflow for the production of immersive and handheld augmented reality stories, and showcase some of the augmented reality storytelling projects being created by Dr. Fisher and her students.
Carys Craig
Craig will present “Copyright, Communication and Culture in the Digital Domain.” Copyright law appears to stand at a dangerous crossroads, forced to choose between maximizing the potential of the digital revolution and reinforcing the norms of the analog world. This is a false dilemma. Digital culture should not be regarded as threat to the copyright system or the public purposes it serves; rather, the copyright system should be viewed as a threat to our developing digital culture.
Mary Leigh Morbey, with Mary Pat O’Meara
Morbey will present “Social Media Engages Oral Culture at Ugandan Heritage Sites,” with Mary Pat O’Meara, the videographer on the Uganda National Museum Social Media project. Uganda in East Africa possesses 100 heritage sites illustrating the rich culture of Uganda: little known by Ugandans and the world. Collaboration between the Uganda National Museum and a York University Institute for Research on Learning Technologies research team is capturing the heritage sites through video and photograph, and stories of older people living in the shadow of the sites through videoed interviews in English and Luganda. The collected data situated in a Social Media structure centered in the museum website, preserves potential lost heritage.
Stacy Allison-Cassin
Allison-Cassin will explore “Disconnecting connections: librarianship and information systems.” Her talk will highlight recently published and current research exploring the frictions present in the philosophical underpinnings of traditional librarianship in relation to technology, with a particular aim to expose how assumptions about information systems and the bodies of librarians impact our ability to forge alternate pathways in the digital environment.
David Cecchetto
Cecchetto will discuss, “Sound, Affect and Digital Communities.” His research takes hold at the crossing of aurality, digitality and critical posthumanism. Cecchetto’s talk begins by describing the claims of critical posthumanism, and proceeds to briefly discuss a practice-inclusive research project that works from this position to demonstrate—practically and theoretically—the innovative potential of bringing aurality to bear on digital technologies.
Melanie Baljko
Baljko will present, “Digital Technology Design in the GaMaY Lab.” Her presentation will provide an overview of several research projects underway in the Graphics and Media (GaMaY) research lab in the Lassonde School of Engineering. The presentation will describe and discuss some of the threads that are common to these works, which include: critical reflection on the hidden assumptions and values underlying the design of digital technologies; accessibility and barriers to digital technologies; obstacles in the small-scale production and development of digital technology; and harnessing modes of knowledge mobilization.
Organizers ask that interested participants register their RSVP by Dec. 5.