Invited Speakers

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Shama Rangwala

9:00AM to 10:00AM

Fields of Containment, Patterns of Disruption

This talk takes a broad view of Digital Humanities, looking at the emergence of particular forms and technologies—from Dutch portraiture to the selfie, the Gutenberg Press to the Internet—in order to track the relationship between cultural production and political economy. Disruptions of form and technology cause patterns to emerge that then form fields, and these creative and critical fields in turn adapt to contain the original disruptions within hegemonic boundaries. While new technologies can lead to an increase in access, both for creators and audiences, along with possible disruptions in dominant representation, they can also be co-opted through adaptation to reinforce existing structures of power. Digital Humanities has the potential to disrupt the hegemonic liberal capitalism that makes its technologies possible, and though its creative and critical capacities act as a disruptive force in a moment when its sedimentation as a field threatens to contain its originary disruption.

Shama Rangwala is Assistant Professor of Humanities at York University. Shama’s intermedia and interdisciplinary research focuses on the ideological adaptations of patriarchal and racial capitalism throughout history and across discourses and narrative forms. She is co-Principal Investigator with Prof. Michael Litwack of Sounding Race, the founding editor of Pyriscence, a digital culture and politics magazine, and a regular contributor to TV news panels, podcasts, and other media.

Technology, Industry, and Propagation Panel

with Sky Sun, Eden Redman, and Shelby Carleton
Moderated by Erin O'Neil

2:10PM to 3:10PM

Sky Sun is finishing up her MA in Digital Humanities at the U of A and is working full time at SAM Desk as Senior Social Intelligence Analyst. Her role at SAM Desk is to enrich and manage data to support AI performance.

Eden is now in his second year of an after-degree focusing on industrial design and computing science. Eden is Director of Edmonton Strategy for NeuroNexus, co-founder and executive of a UofA neurotechnology group, and the president of CoCASC, a collective devoted to facilitating cross-disciplinary projects on campus. His current research interests include the development of brain computer interfaces, neurofeedback, and the neuronal basis of consciousness.

Shelby Carleton co-founded Caldera Interactive in 2019 and is the Narrative Director on their current game. She is passionate about gender issues and growing the studio into an ethical, diverse, and sustainable team that creates emotionally resonant games. Shelby lives in Edmonton with her German Shepherd, Commander.

Panel.mp4

ALumni Roundtable

with Luciano Dos Reis Frizzera, Sophia Hoosein, Laura Gerlitz, David Holmes, and Brett Nisbet
Moderated by Dr. Jonathan Cohn

3:20PM to 4:20PM

Luciano is a PhD student in Communication Studies at Concordia University. His doctoral research explores the political and social implications of sensors, datafication, and hyper-nudges to understand how algorithmic mediation is mobilized to produce subjects and reorganize life. His background spans a diverse range of disciplines and mediums: media studies, graphic and web design, data visualization, urban studies, digital humanities, and software studies.

Sophia is an alumnus of the HuCo/SLIS combined degree programme. She is currently a senior digital practitioner at the Government of Alberta who advocates for human-centred and accessible design and content. Sophia a long-time public servant who’s worn many hats during her time in the public sector: content strategist and designer, UX researcher, and product manager to name a few. She also founded and co-chairs the Government of Alberta's Digital Community of Practice, which unifies digital practitioners in government and builds organizational capacity to drive digital and service design transformation. Sophia's background in HuCo and SLIS has effectively prepared her to wear all of these hats.

Laura Gerlitz is a 2019 graduate of the combined MLIS/MA in Digital Humanities program. While completing her thesis she received an internship at Research Data Canada, and is currently on term as a Metadata Librarian at the Bank of Canada, working closely with several departments to set up a descriptive data catalogue for the Bank's researchers and staff.

David Holmes is a game developer currently working as a gameplay designer at Improbable Canada. Graduating with an MA in Humanities Computing in 2017, David cofounded an independent game studio and released the game Life Goes On during his time at the U of A and has also worked as a Producer and Designer at Beamdog.

zoom_2.mp4

Closing Remarks with Jennifer McDevitt

4:20PM to 4:35PM

Jennifer McDevitt (she/her) is an MLIS/MA Digital Humanities candidate and President of the Digital Humanities Students' Association. Her research investigates how rural public libraries might use young adult fiction featuring social activism narratives to engage with youth and empower them to create change in their communities.

Page updated

Report abuse