The Institute for Research on Digital Literacies has for two decades brought together scholars, teachers, learners, tech industry experts, school boards, and feminist gaming pioneers from around the world to understand the transformative power and consequences of emerging digital technologies. It is my honor to join this community and to launch a new phase of IRDL’s proud story by welcoming a community of researchers whose interests extend our mandate to include digital cultures related to youth, social media, surveillance, and privacy issues, AI, generational analysis, diverse literacies, and ongoing innovations in learning technologies. Our work at IRDL is supported by York University’s research excellence mandate, our award-winning faculty, and our dedicated post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, undergraduates, and staff. In a rapidly changing digital world, the Institute for Research on Digital Literacies looks optimistically toward a future of discovery, collaboration, mentorship, and innovation. On a personal note, in the past few months it has become clear that the digital world is radically shaping the way we live our lives. Like many of you, my whole world has moved into digital spaces – my family life, my work life, my social life. And, there are many others for whom this isn’t possible, who aren’t able to access these spaces easily. It is with this in mind that I approach this new academic year both excited and daunted by the challenging work ahead to understand the complexities of 2021’s digital experience as our lives weave in and through digital spaces. Sincerely, Dr. Natalie Coulter Director of IRDL
Updates
Dr. Natalie Coulter has been a core member of IRDL for a number of years, and it is with great anticipation that we celebrate her move to the role of Acting Director. Dr. Coulter has hit the ground running with a number of new initiatives and events on the horizon for IRDL. These include weekly “Shut Up and Write” sessions, the BINBWoC [aka BIN-BEE-WOC] Graduate Student Collective that aims to create a university space for Black, Indigenous, non-binary, women of colour scholars to deal with racist and sexist institutional structures, and numerous new projects under the IRDL umbrella. Watch this space for updates!
A warm congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Jenson as she embarks on a new adventure at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Jenson has served as director of IRDL for six amazing years. Her contribution and spirit have lifted the institute to new levels and brought together an incredible group of researchers. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. -Semisonic On this occasion we, here at IRDL, honour Dr. Jenson with the distinction of Director Emeritus-Supremus.
Digital Culture and the Arts, received a $7,500 York Seminar for Advanced Research funding award for 2007-2008. The seminar focus is Digital Dimensions: The Arts and Virtual Culture. The seminar, co-proposed by Mary Leigh Morbey, Faculty of Education and Caitlin Fisher, Department of Film in the Faculty of Fine Arts, will bring together ten distinguished scholars from southern Ontario and Montreal universities. The scholars’ research focuses on the arts and virtual culture to explore both emerging digital arts practices and the social and digital environments enabled by them. You can see an example of the SIG’s work by viewing Natalia Sinitskaya’s presentation onWireless in Cyberia.