No. 499 - March 8, 2023

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites - Winter Edition
    - "The Politics of Remembering through Civic Space: Examining and Imagining the Urban Signs of Black History in London, Ontario"
    - "Global Conversations: Museum Diplomacy in Changing Times"
    - "Playing Videogames Their Own Way"
    - "Challenging Imposter Sydrome" with Melanie-Anne Atkins
    - "Creativity Workshop with Beau Dixon"
    - "The author and finisher of her craft: authentic creative control in selected South African television series by Black women auteurs"
    - Research Ethics Workshop: "Conducting research with or about human subjects"

  • Important Dates:

    - Friday, March 17, 2023 - Senate (1:30 PM, AHB 1R40)

  • News & Announcements:

    - MLISSC Reading Challenge
    - Friday Night Games Reminder
    - LibQUAL+ Online Survey

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Michael Ridley

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - Sofia Locklear
    - Santasil Mallik

  • In the Media:

    - Alissa Centivany
    - Anabel Quan-Haase
    - John Reed

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Guardians of Sleep Official Soundtrack release
    - Alissa Centivany

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - FIMS Grad Library Presents...Challenging Imposter Syndrome
    - Make of the Month: Paper Circuits (S.T.E.A.M.)

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


FIMSWrites - Winter Edition
Every Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Check your Western email for the link (or contact Pam McKenzie)
Do you expect to have assignment, story, article, report, thesis, and/or book writing deadlines coming up in the Winter term? Does having other people writing around you help keep you on-task? Then join us for FIMSWrites, an informal initiative to provide some solidarity in the sometimes-solitary writing process. What it is: a group of people sitting silently together working on their individual writing projects for 25-minute Pomodoro sessions, with short breaks between and a longer mid-morning coffee, snack, and socializing break. What it's not: a writing tutorial or workshop. Open to FIMS faculty and grad students who have writing to work on.

"The Politics of Remembering through Civic Space: Examining and Imagining the Urban Signs of Black History in London, Ontario"
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Register for Zoom link
Presented by Basil Chiasson as part of the FIMS Seminar Series.
Few would dispute that Canadian history is a colonial history, and curated civic landscapes countrywide confirm this reality. But what if we adjust the claim to assert that Canadian history is also Black history? Where, then, are the civic signs of Black history in Canadian cities? What do those signs say and how do they function? Who put them there? How do they operate within a network of other signs of the past which centre whiteness? And how can we examine and imagine the urban signs of Black history in ways that can make a city’s landscape richer and more inclusive (continue reading)?

"Global Conversations: Museum Diplomacy in Changing Times"
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Attend in person: Aga Khan Museum (77 Wynford Dr. North York, ON)
Attend online: Zoom Webinar
This International Women's Day, join Dr. Sarah Smith, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Art, Culture and Global Relations and Dr. Sascha Priewe, Director of Collections and Public Programs of the Aga Khan Museum, as they sit down with Dr. Ulrike Al-Khamis, CEO and Director of the Aga Khan Museum, Ngaire Blankenberg, Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, and Anne Elisabeth Thibault, Executive Director of Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal’s Archaeology and History Complex to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing cultural institutions at this moment (continue reading).

"Playing Videogames Their Own Way"
Thursday, March 9, 2023
4:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom link
Presented by Juan Escobar-Lamanna, PhD candidate in Media Studies.
This fields examination explores the intersection of videogames, their surrounding industry, disability, and normative forms of media use. Despite videogames being an extremely popular media, videogame and disability studies have had minimal direct influence on one another. What limited academic literature does exist on the intersection of gaming and disability typically addresses how videogames can be used as assistive medical tools for people with disabilities (continue reading).

"Challenging Imposter Syndrome" with Melanie Anne-Atkins
Tuesday, March 14, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4070
Attend online: Zoom
When you experience success in your academic or personal life, do you feel like a fraud? When someone praises you for a job well done, does it feel unearned? When you experience failure, who takes all the blame? In this highly interactive talk based on content from Upskilling Graduates for Success: Cultivating Wellbeing in Workplaces and Communities, let’s explore what imposter syndrome looks, sounds, and feels like for you; discuss why it won’t automatically go away when you graduate; and try up to four strategies to lessen its impact on yourself and each other (continue reading).

"Creativity Workshop with Beau Dixon"
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
FNB Creative Commons (Rm. 202)
Register now.
Please join us for a rare informal workshop with award-winning actor, musician, playwright, music director, and sound designer Beau Dixon on March 15. Everyone welcome. Beau Dixon will be performing live, speaking about his work and process as an artist, and sharing stories about his experiences working on his musical cabaret Freedom: The Spirit and Legacy of Black Music as well as other projects. The event will be immersive and feature opportunities to participate in the music making and storytelling (continue reading).

"The author and finisher of her craft: authentic creative control in selected South African television series by Black women auteurs"
Thursday, March 16, 2023
4:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom link
Presented by Sibusisiwe Gugu Manqele, PhD candidate in English, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
An overt focus on Black women South African auteurs and the challenging of hegemonic conglomerate power structures in episodic television series. The purpose of this research is to document the experiences of Black women auteurs in South Africa creating creative work in mainstream television. Starting with Ayanda Halimana South African writer and Creative Director of Makoti (2019-2022). The aim of this research is to not only document the rise of the Black Millennial Auteurs, but also shed light on Black women auteurs who write, produce, direct and star in their work in South Africa (continue reading).

Research Ethics Workshop: "Conducting research with or about human subjects"
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Zoom (registration required)
Are you considering a Guided Research Project or starting your thesis research next term? If your research involves collecting data from or about people, attendance at this human research ethics workshop is required before submitting any Guided Research or thesis research proposal for the Summer 2023 term. You can also attend if you're considering a research project in a subsequent term, though the same workshop will be offered in the Summer 2023 and Fall 2023 terms. If you have already received ethics approval for your research/data collection, attendance is not required. Faculty researchers are also welcome to attend. To register, please email Shelley Long at slong@uwo.ca.


Important Dates


- Friday, March 17, 2023 - Senate (1:30 PM, AHB 1R40)


News & Announcements


MLISSC Reading Challenge
The MLIS student council is hosting a fundraising reading challenge. This reading challenge will be a 24 hour event where participants can collect money based on the amount of time they can read. MLIS students, staff and faculty can consider joining and supporting their fellow students. All proceeds go towards the MLIS student food bank. For more information, stay tuned!

Friday Night Games Reminder
The relaunched Friday Night Games group will hold their second meetup on Friday, March 10, at 5pm in the FNB atrium (first floor). All are welcome to attend. See their Facebook page for details.

LibQUAL+ Online Survey
Help Western Libraries help you! Take our five-minute library survey. It evaluates library service quality and your responses will help us better understand and respond to your needs for services and library space. All survey questions are optional, and you can quit at any time. Your responses will be completely confidential, but we may use anonymous comments in internal reports and to promote the library. There are prizes to be won! More information.


Awards & Accomplishments


Michael Ridley, a recent LIS PhD graduate, was one of a number of graduate students across campus who had their thesis work randomly selected for display through the Inspiring Minds Showcase, curated by SGPS. Western's graduate students were challenged to describe their work in 150 or fewer words; this non-competitive showcase highlights a curated group of randomly selected master's and doctoral students from across campus. It's an exciting snapshot of work in progress and work that will have an impact on our society for years to come. Ridley's submission can be seen under the title Folk Theories and Explainable Artificial Intelligence. 

Two FIMS students were also featured in the showcase last year. Media Studies master's student Samantha Richard (now a graduate) submitted Narrative's Role in the Retelling of True Crime Cases, while MHIS student Catherine Danko (now a graduate) submitted The Uses and Gratifications of TikTok During COVID-19. 


Publications & Presentations


Assistant Professor Sofia Locklear co-authored this recently published article:

Elizabeth Korver-Glenn, Sofia Locklear, Junia Howell & Ellen Whitehead (2023): Displaced and unsafe: The legacy of settler-colonial racial capitalism in the U.S. rental market. Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City
DOI: 10.1080/26884674.2023.2176799

Media Studies PhD student Santasil Mallik published an essay titled "Farming Images: The Documentary Practice of Soumya Sankar Bose" on The Museum of Dreams website. The article includes a Q&A with Bose.


In the Media


Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany is quoted in an article titled "MP’s right to repair bill is an important first step, prof says," published in National Newswatch on March 6.

Professor Anabel Quan-Haase joined CBC Afternoon Drive on February 28 to discuss how the government's move to ban TikTok from government devices might influence other Canadian's decisions to continue to use the app. Part 1. Part 2.

Professor Quan-Haase also joined Shaye Ganam on 630 CHED and 770 QR in Edmonton and Calgary on March 2 to discuss TikTok security concerns and the data that’s collected by the app.

FIMS instructor John Reed was quoted in an article titled "Hyland Cinema: London's last arthouse theatre" published in the Western Gazette on March 2. Reed was also quoted in a London Free Press article from March 2 titled "A deep dive into Quentin Tarantino: Series explores movies that influenced him."


Additional Activities of Note


Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany will provide testimony to the Canadian House of Commons on Bill C-294, An Act to amend the Copyright Act (interoperability) on March 8. The Bill would allow people to circumvent a technological protection measure to make a computer program interoperable with any device or component, or with a product they manufacture.

Assistant Professor Selma Purac and FIMS instructor John Reed appear as guest speakers for Hyland Cinema's Cinema Speculation Film Series, which will air one movie each Friday in March. John Reed appeared on March 3 to discuss the film Taxi Driver. Selma Purac will appear on March 10 to discuss the film Sisters.

Guardians of Sleep Official Soundtrack release
Exciting news from The Museum of Dreams: On April 28, an event will be held to launch the official soundtrack to the first season of the Guardians of Sleep podcast (produced by Professor Sharon Sliwinski, Erin MacIndoe, MA'22, and Andrew Braun, MA'20). The music on the soundtrack was composed, produced and performed by FIMS alum Andrew Braun. Sharon Sliwinski served as Executive Producer on the project. Season 1 Volume 1 will be released through Flood Tide Records. Two singles from the soundtrack are available online. The launch party, An Evening of Dreams - Launching the Guardians of Sleep Original Soundtrack, will be held on April 28 at TAP Centre for Creativity in Downtown London. More information is available on Eventbrite. 


News from the FIMS Graduate Library


FIMS Grad Library Presents…

We are so thrilled to welcome Dr. Melanie-Anne Atkins to FIMS next week. We hope you will join us!

Challenging Imposter Syndrome with Dr. Melanie-Anne Atkins
Tuesday, March 14th (12-1pm, EST), FNB Room 4070 + Live Streamed via Zoom.

When you experience success in your academic or personal life, do you feel like a fraud? When someone praises you for a job well done, does it feel unearned? When you experience failure, who takes all the blame? In this highly interactive talk based on content from Upskilling Graduates for Success: Cultivating Wellbeing in Workplaces and Communities, let’s explore what imposter syndrome looks, sounds, and feels like for you; discuss why it won’t automatically go away when you graduate; and try up to four strategies to lessen its impact on yourself and each other.

Dr. Melanie-Anne Atkins is the Associate Director, TA Programs at the University of Western Ontario’s Centre for Teaching and Learning and a certified CliftonStrengths® coach. She has partnered with every faculty and university college at Western to develop a diverse set of educational resources and assessment tools. In 2016, she led the creation of a student-driven wellness education innovation hub teaching evidence-based mental health and wellness strategies to university students, staff, and faculty. Dr. Atkins has a special interest in engaging students with traditionally marginalized identities in the academy, peer mentorship and education, holistic student development, anti-oppressive practices in education, and students as partners in teaching and learning.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/94648207592 

Meeting ID: 946 4820 7592
One tap mobile
+16475580588,,94648207592# Canada

Dial by your location
+1 647 558 0588 Canada
Meeting ID: 946 4820 7592

Make of the Month: Paper Circuits (S.T.E.A.M.)

Libraries around the world continue to promote S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Math) as a way to engage young learners in library programing. This month we're taking a look at one very popular STEAM activity: paper circuits. Whether for career prospects, personal development or just for fun, the Grad Library wants to help you develop a few basic skills that will help you in your S.T.E.A.M.-related endeavors.

With just a few materials, you can make a basic circuit that lights up an LED, or take it to the next level, and create a beautiful work of art that lights up with the touch of a button. For example, you could make a light-up greeting card, or a pipe cleaner Christmas tree with a light on top. The possibilities are endless.

For the whole month of March, come in and learn about circuits and see what you can create. You can work on simple, self-guided projects (instructions provided), or ask for assistance at the service desk.


Next Issue


The Grad Bulletin is your source for news, announcements, and events pertaining to FIMS graduate programs. Submissions from the FIMS community are always welcome and may be sent via e-mail to fims-communications@uwo.ca.

The next issue of the FIMS Graduate Bulletin will be published on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. The deadline for submissions is noon on Tuesday, March 21, 2023.