2019 Stephen Katz Lecture in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies
Trent Centre for Aging & Society
Event Details
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Wednesday, October 16, 2019
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Trent University Student Centre
Join us for the 2019 Stephen Katz Lecture in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies, "Bunions, Brain Games & Belly Fat: Ageing & Algorithmic Media" with Dr. Kim Sawchuk. The event will take place on October 16th, 2019 at the Trent University Student Centre.
It all began when Dr. Kim Sawchuk turned 55 and noticed the pop-up ads targeting her with messages about bunions and belly fat.
And so she decided to delve into the ways that ageing is being constructed by way of algorithms that use information on our identities to create an ageing profile and to understand how these algorithms operate.
Dr. Sawchuk will ask critical questions about both AI and the algorithms that profile us as we age. She’ll explore how ageing operates as a critical lens to reveal differential relations of power in present-day mediated/consumer cultures. Her approach builds on the critical work of feminist media study scholars such as Wendy Chun, critical race theorists, such as Safiya Noble and age studies scholars such as Barbara Marshall and Stephen Katz on quantified ageing
Dr. Sawchuk will share what she is learning – as an ageing feminist techno-pervert – about how search engines reinforce ageism. She’ll also lay bare the theoretical challenges (and critical limits) of the call for more intersectional research in age studies.
About the Speaker
Dr. Kim Sawchuk is a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Concordia University and the director of the SSHRC Partnership Grant, Ageing, Communication, Technologies: Experiencing a Digital World in Later Life (actproject.ca). She holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Mobile Media Studies. Dr. Sawchuk’s research focuses on the intersection between age, ageing, and communication technologies, more recently examining the ways in which Web 3.0 is shaping public knowledge of ageing and old age through community-based research with older adults. Her recent publications include Game-based Learning Across the Lifespan (Springer, 2018) a co-edited collection of articles on collaborative media-making with older adults.
About the Stephen Katz Distinguished Visiting Scholar in Interdisciplinary Aging Studies Program
It’s time to rethink aging. As the global older adult population grows, and our understanding and experiences of old age shifts and changes, it’s more important than ever to reconsider our long-held beliefs about aging, old age, and older people.
Critical aging studies scholars are at the helm of a burgeoning and cross-disciplinary field that is responsive to the issues facing older people and aging communities. Each year, the Stephen Katz Distinguished Visiting Scholar program invites a leading scholar to Trent University to engage with members of the Trent and Peterborough communities on some of the most compelling questions of the day.
Your support will help bring great minds from across the globe to Trent University to share their work, encourage and inspire students, and spark connections within Trent’s robust network of aging studies scholars. It will allow us to build on the incredible momentum Professor Emeritus Dr. Stephen Katz helped ignite as a visionary in the field, a field that continues to benefit from his intellectual contributions and involvement to this day.
Contact Info
Sylvia Dick
aging@trentu.ca
705-748-1011 x 6440