No. 508 - October 18, 2023

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
    - Lies, damned lies and democracy!
    - Save the Date: Inter/Trans/Multidisciplinarity - Why all the buzz?
    - Save the Date: Conversations on Access - Jonathan Sterne and Ashton Forrest
    - Save the Date: Emma Donoghue and Chris Roulston - In Conversation
    - Save the Date: Advocating for Creativity - Patricia Bovey on Arts Activism & Cultural Policy

  • Important Dates:

    - Wednesday, October 18 - Friday, October 21, 2023 - Autumn Convocation (FIMS ceremony Oct 19, 3 PM)
    - Monday, October 30 - Friday, November 3, 2023 - Fall Reading Week (undergraduate)
    - Monday, October 30 - Friday, November 3, 2023 - MLIS Research Week

  • News & Announcements:

    - Sustainability Pulse Survey
    - MediaSmarts Media Literacy Week

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Amber Matthews

    Publications & Presentations:

    - Amber Matthews
    - Talia Méndez
    - Amara Pope
    - Selma Purac

  • In the Media:

    - Norma Coates
    - Kayla MacInnes
    - Amara Pope
    - Anabel Quan-Haase

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Juan Bello
    - Mark Kearney

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - Reading Week Library Hours

  • News from Western Libraries:

    - October Research Skills Workshop

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


FIMSWrites - Fall Edition
Every Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Check your Western email for the Zoom link (or contact Pam McKenzie) or drop in to FNB 4070.
Do you expect to have assignment, story, article, report, thesis, and/or book writing deadlines coming up in the Fall 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.

Lies, damned lies and democracy!
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Attend in-person: FNB 3090
Attend online: Zoom Webinar
Presented by Professor Emeritus Anton Allahar, Department of Sociology, Western University. Part of the 2023/23 Roger Chair Lecture Series, hosted by James Compton. Refreshments provided.
Abstract: My title borrows from a famous quote that is attributed to Mark Twain who in turn attributed it to Benjamin Disraeli, a former British PM. Apparently when Disraeli was shown to be low in the poll numbers, he asserted: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics!” I modify this quote to read: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and democracy!” For my contention is that much of what passes for democracy today is based on transparent lies that are sold to an unsuspecting public by politicians, multiple civic leaders, media enterprises, teachers and even professors (continue reading).

Save the Date: Inter/Trans/Multidisciplinarity - Why all the buzz?
Monday, November 6, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom Link TBA
Presented by Professor Jacquelyn Burkell, Associate Vice-President (Research) at Western University.
Everywhere you turn in the research environment, the talk is about working across disciplinary divisions. Some of the talk is ‘meta’: Debates rage about the difference between inter-trans-multidisciplinary approaches (sorry, not here!). Some highlights concerns raised by this new focus: Sole scholars and basic researchers worry that this new focus undermines the value of their endeavours (absolutely not!); early career researchers are concerned that a focus on teamwork will undermine their careers (proceed with some caution); those seeking funding for their research suspect that inter/trans/multidisciplinary projects are where the money is going (not wrong). Read more.

Save the Date: Conversations on Access - Featuring Jonathan Sterne and Ashton Forrest
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Zoom Webinar
All are welcome to attend this event. Join us for a conversation about impairment theory and disability activism featuring Dr. Jonathan Sterne and Ashton Forrest. Dr. Sterne is the James McGill Professor of Culture and Technology at McGill University. He recently published Diminished Faculties: A Political Phenomenology of Impairment (2022), which explores impairment as a means to engage a larger conversation about disability, power, and technology (continue reading).

Save the Date: Emma Donoghue and Chris Roulston - In Conversation
Thursday, November 9, 2023
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Museum London
421 Ridout Street North
This event featuring Emma Donoghue and Chris Roulston is a collaborative venture between the Creative Arts & Production (CAP) program and the Words Festival. Following the conversation there will be a reception to mark the official launch of the CAP program. Read more.

Save the Date: Advocating for Creativity - Patricia Bovey on Arts Activism & Cultural Policy
Friday, November 10, 2023
10:00 a.m.
FNB 4130
Everyone is welcome to attend. How can we better advocate for artists in Canada? What role can cultural policy play in securing artists’ material conditions and advancing their interests? And, how can we build broader coalitions to support arts and culture initiatives? Join us for a presentation and discussion considering these pressing questions. Featuring author, museum professional, and former Senator Patricia Bovey, this event will focus on strategies for arts activism, address the current cultural policy landscape in Canada, and identify pressing areas for future policy advocacy (continue reading).


Important Dates


- Wednesday, October 18 - Friday, October 21, 2023 - Autumn Convocation (FIMS ceremony Oct 19, 3 PM)
- Monday, October 30 - Friday, November 3, 2023 - Fall Reading Week (undergraduate)
- Monday, October 30 - Friday, November 3, 2023 - MLIS Research Week


News & Announcements


Sustainability Pulse Survey
Western's Sustainability Office is inviting you to take part in the annual Sustainability Pulse Survey. Staff and faculty and students have important perspectives on campus initiatives that are critical to our decision making. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes and is open until November 3. Take the survey.

MediaSmarts Media Literacy Week
MediaSmarts is gearing up for the 18th annual Media Literacy Week, taking place October 23-27. MLW is an annual event promoting digital media literacy across Canada. Schools, libraries, museums and community groups organize events and activities throughout the week. See the MLW website for upcoming events.


Awards & Accomplishments


LIS PhD candidate Amber Matthews participated in the ALISE/Jean Tague Sutcliffe Doctoral Student Research Poster Competition and was awarded second place for her poster titled "Advancing Anti-Black Racism for Black Youth in Canada."


Publications & Presentations


LIS PhD candidate Amber Matthews presented a paper titled "The Forgotten Ones: Anti-Black Racism, Public Libraries, and Black Youth in Canada" at the Association for Library and Information Science Education Conference in Milwaukee on October 4, 2023. The paper was part of the Youth Services Special Interest Group Panel.

Talia (Tata) Méndez, Media Studies PhD student, coordinated the round table: Memory, Image, and Digital Environments: Latin American Disputed Territory. She also presented the “Digital Innovation through Design Mindset: Case Study – Art for Peace Center. Suchitoto, El Salvador” conference. In the XIV INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR POLITICS OF MEMORY: DEMOCRACY 40 YEARS OF DEBATES AND REFLECTIONS FROM THE PRESENT (Buenos Aires – Argentina) on September 30.

Amara Pope, who recently defended her Media Studies doctoral dissertation, authored an article titled, "How Canadian R&B artists like Drake and Justin Bieber complicate ideas of race, music and nationality," published in The Conversation on October 12.

Assistant Professor Selma Purac presented a paper on muteness and marginalization in horror called "The Sound of Silence: Horror and the Hare," at the American Culture Association's Annual Conference in Chicago, IL, which took place from October 6-8.


In the Media


Associate Professor Norma Coates was interviewed for an article titled, "Look what you made me do: Inside the pursuit of Taylor Swift tickets," published by the Western Gazette on October 11.

Kayla MacInnes, a fourth-year FIMS student, was interviewed about her illustration work for an article titled, "'The Grandpa Rules' offers blueprint for happy, successful life," published in Western News on October 6.

Amara Pope, recent Media Studies PhD graduate, was interviewed by The Morning Edition - K-W with Craig Norris on CBC Radio in a segment titled "Drake, Bieber and Reyez, Ph.D Amara Pope presents her disseration," that aired on October 11. Amara was also interviewed on Weekends with Scott Shantz on 980 CKNW about her research findings.

Professor Anabel Quan-Haase joined CBC Daybreak South in Kelowna (1:22:36) on October 17 to discuss how the conflict in Gaza and Israel affects how Canadians use social media and how information is shared.


Additional Activities of Note

The CBC documentary series titled Black Life: Untold Stories will be available for streaming on October 18 on CBC Gem. The series trailer is now available to view online. FIMS instructor Juan Bello served as the archival producer for the episodes titled, "Northern Beats" and "More than a Game."

Instructor Mark Kearney will talk about Al Christie and his new book Al Christie: Hollywood's Forgotten Film Pioneer at Byron Public Library on October 19 at 7:00 p.m. A Q&A and book signing will follow the talk. *Note that the location has changed to Byron rather than Masonville.



News from the FIMS Graduate Library


Reading Week Library Hours (Saturday, October 28 – Sunday, November 5, 2023)

Saturday, October 28, 1pm-4pm
Sunday, October 29, CLOSED
Monday – Friday, October 30 – November 3, 10am-2pm
Saturday, November 4, CLOSED
Sunday, November 5, CLOSED


News from Western Libraries


October Research Skills Workshops

Did you know Western Libraries host Research Skills Workshops? These workshops offer an introduction to many of the research services and supports we offer at Western Libraries. Most workshops are held on Zoom, more information provided on the event pages (linked below). Follow the links to register!

Upcoming workshops:

To find more upcoming Western Library events and workshops visit the Western Libraries Events page. If you have questions about workshops, please email rsclib@uwo.ca.


Next Issue


The FIMS 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 Bulletin will be published on Wednesday, November 1. The deadline to submit content is Tuesday, October 31 at noon.