The start of a new academic year heralds in the hustle and bustle of new and returning students on campus and a wide range of events, such as the seventh season of Dr. Alex Ketchum’s .
The Speaker Series kicks off this upcoming September 11, and Dr. Ketchum has once again assembled a selection of interesting and engaging talks on a variety of subjects and themes, such as podcasting, digital disability and digital technologies.
Ketchum was inspired to start her own speaker series during the winter of 2019 after hearing about a screening at Concordia University for Cinema Politica, organized by Astra Taylor, a documentary film maker and activist, and Italian-American scholar and professor Silvia Federici.
“I reached out to Astra Taylor to give a talk about her earlier book,” says Ketchum. “She said yes and that got the series started.”
“I also really wanted to draw attention to the social, political, and cultural impacts of AI, especially on marginalized communities,” she adds. “I also wanted to hear from a more diverse group of scholars, artists, and activists about these issues. My series highlights the voices of women, LGBTQ+ folks, people with disabilities, and people of color.”
The Fall 2024 season will feature talks from the likes of Mar Hicks, a historian of technology from University of Virginia’s School of Data Science, Dr. M. Murphy, technology studies scholar and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Environmental Data Justice and Science and Technology Studies at the University of Toronto and Professor Mattie Brice, an independent video game designer and professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
“This fall will mark the 100th event (actually 103rd),” says Ketchum. “It's been so exciting to bring together all of these voices. I love the fall because it's when a new group of students gets to learn about the series for the first time.”
As well as this Fall’s exciting lineup of events, students can access recordings of the speaker series past events on their .