No. 523 - September 25, 2024

  • Coming Events:

    - FIMSWrites Fall Edition
    - Silent No More: A virtual tour of the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School
    - Reflections and Reframing: Student perspectives on using mindfulness to support feedback literacy and growth
    - The Incredible Machines: Public Fascination with Surveillance Tech
    - A trip through Tactical Tech Studio, with Louise Hisayasu
    - At a Loss for Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage
    - Doing Indigenous Research: A Workshop for Graduate Students
    - Save the Date - Supporting Safer Classrooms: Training for FIMS grad students
    - Save the Date - Communicating Solidarity in the Neoliberal University: Challenges and Solutions

  • Important Dates:

    - Thursday, September 26, 2024 - Meeting of the Board of Governors (10 AM, Zoom)
    - Friday, September 27 - Sunday, September 29, 2024 - Western Homecoming

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Juan Bello
    - Andrew Lewis
    - Kaha Liban
    - Alessandra Mularoni
    - Joanna Redden

    Publications & Presentations:

    - Juan Bello
    - John Kausch
    - Jeff Preston (MA'08, PhD'14, Media Studies)
    - Anabel Quan-Haase
    - Tiara Sukhan
    - Sina Torabi

  • In the Media:

    - Chris Arsenault
    - Sheima Benembarek
    - Norma Coates
    - Alison Hearn
    - Sally Kewayosh
    - Selma Purac
    - Romayne Smith Fullerton
    - Luke Stark
    - Tiara Sukhan

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Jean Mugabarigira

  • News from the FIMS Graduate Library:

    - Welcome Fall 2024 SLA Team
    - Library Card Pick Up
    - Fall 2024 Hours & Access
    - Upcoming Events at the Library

  • News from Western Libraries:

    - Research Skills Workshops

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events


FIMSWrites Fall Edition
Every Wednesday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
FNB 4130, or Zoom
Do you expect to have assignment, story, article, report, thesis, and/or book writing deadlines coming up this 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 a morning, with a mid-morning coffee, snack, and socializing break (fika). What it's not: a writing tutorial or workshop. Join us in person or on Zoom (check your Western email for a message from Pam McKenzie to find the Meeting ID).

Silent No More: A virtual tour of the former Mohawk Institute Indian Residential School
Monday, September 30, 2024
2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Weldon Library, Community Room (1st floor)
Join us on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation for this special screening and conversation. All are welcome.
The former Mohawk Institute Residential School (Mush Hole) was the longest operating residential school in Canada. A building created to destroy Indigenous identity and heritage is now the home of the Woodland Cultural Centre, a site dedicated to the revitalization of Hodinohsho:ni cultures and languages. The film will be followed by conversation between filmmaker/professor Sally Kewayosh and her collaborators. A reception will be held after the event.

Reflections and Reframing: Student perspectives on using mindfulness to support feedback literacy and growth
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
12:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Attend in-person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Register on Zoom
All are welcome to attend. Presented by Assistant Professor Erin Isings as part of the FIMS 2024/25 Seminar Series.
Abstract: The process through which students make meaning and learn from feedback is called feedback literacy. Feedback-literate students have the ability to make meaning and enact feedback to enhance their learning. Other students struggle to establish meaning from feedback, which may present a barrier to learning (continue reading).

The Incredible Machines: Public Fascination with Surveillance Tech
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Museum London (421 Ridout Street North)
Desmond Cole presents this keynote lecture at the launch of the Starling Centre for Just Technologies and Just Societies. Starling Centre launch events are free and all are welcome.
Desmond Cole is a journalist, activist and author based in Toronto. His work focuses on struggles against state violence, particularly local policing. He has produced works for live news radio, podcasts, magazines, and newspapers in Toronto and across Canada (more information).

A trip through Tactical Tech Studio, with Louise Hisayasu
Thursday, October 3, 2024
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Museum London (421 Ridout Street North)
Louise Hisayasu presents this keynote lecture at the launch of the Starling Centre for Just Technologies and Just Societies. Starling Centre launch events are free and all are welcome.
Louise Hisayasu holds a master's in media art history and digital cultures, with a keen interest in decolonial practices in Brazil, where she is from. She is the senior project coordinator of The Glass Room project, an interactive exhibition on data and privacy that provides different ways of understanding how technologies and data are changing our lives.

At a Loss for Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage
Thursday, October 3, 2024
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
UCC, McKellar Room (Register)
This in-person event is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from two distinguished voices in journalism and literature. Carol Off will discuss her latest work in conversation with award-winning journalist and author Michelle Shephard (more information).

Doing Indigenous Research: A Workshop for Graduate Students
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
FNB 4130
Are you a FIMS grad student interested in understanding your responsibilities when doing Indigenous research? Please join Katie Big-Canoe (Indigenous Research Specialist, Western Research) and Lorraine Davies (Associate Vice-Provost, SGPS) for an informative session (continue reading).

Save the Date - Supporting Safer Classrooms: Training for FIMS Grad Students
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
FNB 4070
Supporting Safer Classrooms is an interactive training developed by the Wellness and Equity Education Team here on campus and focuses on building up our skills around power use, boundary setting, intervention strategies, and managing difficult behaviour from a place of empathy, all in order to create safer classrooms, meetings and labs. Check your Western email for full details.

Save the Date - Communicating Solidarity in the Neoliberal University: Challenges and Solutions
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB Creative Commons (2nd floor)
Attend online: Zoom details TBA
Hosted by Professor James Compton, current FIMS Rogers Chair. Featuring panelists Peter McInnis, President of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), Patti Dalton, President of the London and District Labour Council, Evan Fox-Decent, President of the Association of McGill Professors of Law, and Karuna Dsouza, former President of PSAC. All are welcome.


Important Dates


- Thursday, September 26, 2024 - Meeting of the Board of Governors (10 AM, Zoom)
- Friday, September 27 - Sunday, September 29, 2024 - Western Homecoming


Awards & Accomplishments


FIMS instructor Juan Bello was awarded a grant from the London Arts Council - Community Arts Investment Program for the design and production of "The Telenovela Archives." This is a travelling exhibition based on the outcomes of "The Telenovela Archives: The Early Years (1950-1970)," a research and creation project funded by the Canada Council for the Arts - Explore and Create Program.

Instructor Andrew Lewis has been chosen to be Honor Laureate and Juror for the 23rd Biennial Exhibition by Colorado State University and the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition. Taking place from September 9-13, the event will feature a public lecture, workshops, and a large exhibit of Lewis' posters at the University Art Museum. "Lewis was selected based on recognizing the contributions of an individual in the profession of design and one that fosters a wider global understanding." - John Gravdahl, Department of Art and Art History.

MLIS student Kaha Liban was selected for the Association of Research Libraries 2024 Kaleidoscope Scholar Program that is geared to preparing BIPOC students for their career in the LIS field. Kaha is the first student from Western to be selected for the scholar program since its beginning in 2000.

Alessandra Mularoni, PhD candidate in Media Studies, successfully defended her thesis titled Against Eternity: A Critique of Transhumanism, on August 16.

Associate Professor Joanna Redden is part of a team that was awarded new funding through the T-AP Democracy, Governance and Trust (DGT) program. The Trans-Atlantic Platform (T-AP) funds projects across four continents. Professor Redden's project is titled "Democracy, AI and Big Tech: Assessing Corporate Activities in the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence in the UK, US and Canada," and will be funded over the next two years.


Publications & Presentations


FIMS instructor Juan Bello served as the film programmer for Reel Reflections, a selection of Latin American films that will be presented at Museum London on Sept 28-29. It's a grassroot initiative, led by members of the Spanish speaking community, to share some of the best films produced in Latin America with the London audience. Titles include The Eternal Memory [La memoria infinita], La suprema, and Las pupusas. For more information about the films and to obtain tickets, visit Simple Reflections for Artists on Eventbrite.

Bello will also be the curator of "The Telenovela Archives: Serialized Fiction in Cuba before the Revolution," an exhibition hosted by the Cuban Heritage Collection at the Roberto C. Goizueta Pavilion of the Otto G. Richter Library at the University of Miami, from September 2025 to August 2026. The Cuban Heritage Collection is the largest archive and library collection on Cuba and its diaspora outside of the island.

John Kausch, PhD student in Library and Information Science, made a presentation called "Translational Action as an Interdisciplinary Method for Knowledge Organization at the Rotman Institute's graduate student conference on September 19. John also presented a paper called "The Characteristica Universalis as the History and Future of Writing" at Document Academy conference on September 20.

Professor Anabel Quan-Haase co-authored the following publication:

Petrovčič, A., Reisdorf, B. C., Quan-Haase, A., Bartol, J., & Grošelj, D. (2024). Digital inequalities among internet users before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparison from two cross-sectional surveys in Slovenia. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 209, 123745.

Assistant Professor Tiara Sukhan authored an article titled "International productions of 'Love is Blind' are joyfully disrupting 'happily ever after'," published in The Conversation on September 10. The article was republished by Western News on September 11.

Sina Torabi, PhD student in Media Studies and King's University College Associate Professor Jeff Preston (MA'08, PhD'14, Media Studies) co-authored the following publication:

Torabi, S.; Preston, J. Echoes of Madness: Exploring Disability and Mental Illness in Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. Societies 2024, 14, 170.

 


In the Media


MMJC Chair Chris Arsenault was quoted in a Canadian Press article titled "Ontario's public broadcaster under scrutiny for funding, then pulling Russian war doc," published by CTV News and Times Colonist on September 13.

Sheima Benembarek, current FIMS Asper Fellow, is featured in a profile titled "Sheima Benembarek joins FIMS as the Fall 2024 Asper Fellow," published on the FIMS website in mid-September.

Benembarek is also featured in a Western Gazette article titled "Sheima Benembarek is writing the stories she wants to tell," published on September 24.

Associate Professor Norma Coates was a guest on CBC London Morning on September 16 to discuss Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris for American President.

Professor Alison Hearn was quoted in an article titled "What is it about watching a stranger's 'get ready with me' videos that's so appealing?" published in the Globe and Mail on August 27.

Assistant Professor Sally Kewayosh and Selma Purac were profiled in an article titled, "New positions and new opportunities in FIMS," published on the FIMS website in early September.

Professor Purac was also interviewed for an article titled "Nostalgia for 'a mythical past': Why Gen Z loves the old-school digicam," published by The Canadian Press on September 1 and reprinted in more than 100 media outlets like CTV News and Yahoo News. A clip of the Canadian Press broadcast interview aired on dozens of regional radio stations across the country including AM980.

Lastly, Purac was interviewed for an article titled "Nova onda de remakes faz sucesso, mas mostra queda na criatividade," published in Brazil's Metrópoles on September 1.

Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton was a guest on CBC London Morning on August 14 to discuss recent cuts to local journalism jobs, including layoffs at AM980.

Assistant Professor Tiara Sukhan appeared on a CTV news television story called "MrBeast filming new reality competition show in Toronto," on August 28.


Additional Activities of Note


Jean Mugabarigira, MA in Media Studies candidate (graduating in October), completed a story map as part of his Independant Research Project tracing his experience from being a young child who survived the Rwandan Genocide, to living on the streets, to his years in El-Shadai Orphanage in Nyabugogo. Titled Homelessness and Resilience in Post-Genocide Rwanda, the multimedia project accompanied a traditional research paper based on interviews with former street children in Rwanda.


News from the FIMS Grad Library


Welcome Fall 2024 SLA Team

We are delighted to welcome the following students to our part-time, Student Library Assistant (SLA) team here in the FGL this term: Jennifer Baba, Sawneet Bhogal, Puneet Dhaliwal, Nicole Hunt, Ozwell Ryann Le Clair, Sodiq Onaolapo, and Kevin Oswald. You will see Student Library Assistants at the Service Desk in the library, and they are here to help you with library resources, services, facilities and programming.

Library Card Pick-Up

If you’ve not already done so, do visit the library the next time you’re on campus to pick up your library card. You’ll need this if you would like to borrow materials from our technology lending collection (e.g., phone and laptop chargers, ring lights, etc.), and to make use of our on-site resources and services.

Fall 2024 Hours & Access

Our hours vary each term and are aligned with campus-based course offerings. We strive to maintain access beyond business hours (i.e., at least some evening and weekend hours). This term, we’re open:

Monday – Thursday, 10am-7pm
Friday, 10am – 4pm
Saturday, 12-4pm (CLOSED Sundays)

N.B. We are closed on Sundays, on Saturdays of long weekends, and all Statutory Holidays.

Upcoming Events at the Library

The FGL hosts workshops, lectures, and community events each term to support graduate teaching, learning, and research. Events are posted to our website (https://lib.fims.uwo.ca/events/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fimsgradlib/)

Zotero Workshop

Facilitator Kevin Oswald will show you the value of managing citations and how easy it is to create your own library! He will show you a world where your bibliography assembles itself while you pour your energy into writing and research! Take dive deep into the magic of Zotero and discover tools and tricks to streamline your research process.

Thursday, September 26th, 2024
12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
FIMS Graduate Library Room 3020 D/E

More details: https://lib.fims.uwo.ca/2024/09/18/zotero-workshop/

First Nations Public Library Week

The FGL is broadcasting the following sessions for First Nations Public Library Week.

  • Elder's Panel - "Creation Stories from Across the Territory"
    October 1st at 10:00 am
  • First Nation Communities READ Award Ceremony
    October 3rd at 11:00 am
  • First Nation Communities READ Author Talk
    October 4th at 10:00 am

Where: FIMS Graduate Library Room 3020 D/E

More details about the sessions: https://resources.olservice.ca/fnplw/2024

Archives Association of Ontario – Information Drop in

Representative Rhiannon Allen-Roberts will be at the library to share information about what the Archives Association of Ontario offers to members and the benefits of professional associations. This is an opportunity to talk to an archivist and ask questions about the profession.

Wednesday, October 9th, 2024
4:30-5:30
FIMS Graduate Library Room 3020 D/E


News from Western Libraries


Research Skills Workshops

You're invited to join us for the upcoming Research Skills Workshops, hosted by Western Libraries. From data collection to publishing, get expert help at all stages of the research cycle with free workshops.


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, October 9, 2024. Submit any items you have by noon on Tuesday, October 8.