No. 541 - October 22, 2025

  • Coming Events:

    - "A World Divided into Sheep & Goats: The Scientific Practice of Taxonomy and the Construction of Private Identity"
    - The Museum of Dreams launches Dreamers of the 21st Century
    - FIMS Faculty Pastries & Pedagogy Drop-In
    - AI, Intimacy and Influence: Youth, Parasocial Relationships and the AI Age
    - Reactionary Futurism: The Rise of Technofascism in Silicon Valley
    - FIMS Grad Student Seminar with Becca Lewis
    - Book Launch for An Alphabet for Dreamers: How to See the World with Eyes Closed
    - Save the Date - Mega Satellite Constellations
    - Save the Date - Why Critical AI Literacy Matters: Implications for policy and practice

  • Important Dates:

    - Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - FIMS Fall Convocation - Afternoon ceremony - Canada Life Place
    - Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - Western's Senate and Board of Governors Elections Information Session
    - Monday, November 3 - Friday, November 7, 2025 - Fall Reading Week

    Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Aloa Alota
    - Alissa Centivany

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - Billie Anderson
    - Alissa Centivany
    - Edward Comor
    - Anastazia Csegeny
    - Eden Hoffer
    - Selma Purac
    - Joanna Redden
    - Sarah Smith

  • In the Media:

    - Tim Blackmore
    - Brodie Fenlon (MA'99, Journalism)
    - Michael Finnerty (MA'89, Journalism)
    - Maria Laura Flores Barba
    - Amanda Grzyb
    - Luke Stark

  • Activities of Note:

    - Juan Andrés Bello
    - Alissa Centivany
    - Joanna Redden
    - Luke Stark

  • News from the FIMS Grad Library:

    - Reading Week Hours 
    - Upcoming Events at the Library

  • News from Western Libraries:

    - Western University's Open Repository - Come Learn What's New
    - Reading and Creative Practice with Ken Lum
    - Upcoming Research Skills Workshops

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events

"A World Divided into Sheep & Goats: The Scientific Practice of Taxonomy and the Construction of Private Identity"
Thursday, October 23, 2025
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Community Room, Innovation Works
Presented by Bri Watson, Western University, as part of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy's Connecting Research to the Public Good: 2025 Annual Fall Lecture Series (co-organized by Alissa Centivany).
Description: Based on work done for a book tentatively titled The Kinseys: the Myth of the Sexual Revolution, this talk presents the results of an investigation into the Kinseys (the man and the Institute) in order to examine the profound influence of taxonomy and knowledge organization on the shaping of people’s most private interiorities: gender, sexuality, and personal identity.

The Museum of Dreams launches Dreamers of the 21st Century
Saturday, October 25, 2025
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Moss Park CTS
134 Sherbourne Street, Toronto
Description: The Museum of Dreams (Sharon Sliwinski) is launching its new project, Dreamers of the 21st Century on Saturday October 25. We are celebrating the launch of this project with a pop-up exhibition at Moss Park CTS, one of community partners. The exhibition features testimonies by Moss Park CTS service users and staff and illustrated portraits by Toronto artist Melinda Josie. We will also celebrate the release of the new project website and our co-authored report, Dreaming Together: The Collective Dreamwork of Moss Park CTS. The event is free, and everyone is welcome.

FIMS Faculty Pastries & Pedagogy - Drop-In Session
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
4th Floor Lunch Room
This academic year, FIMS is launching Pastries & Pedagogy for faculty - a series of casual, drop-in morning sessions designed to get you talking about teaching. These informal gatherings will take place monthly on different days throughout the term to accommodate a variety of schedules. The goal is to offer a relaxed space for colleagues to connect over coffee and pastries while discussing teaching strategies, exploring classroom challenges, and sharing what's been working. Looking to exchange ideas? Or, maybe you just want to caffeinate while chatting about teaching. Please pop by! For questions, please contact Assistant Professor Selma Purac at spurac2@uwo.ca.

AI, Intimacy and Influence: Youth, Parasocial Relationships and the AI Age
Thursday, October 30, 2025
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Online only. Register on Zoom
Panelists include Anabel Quan-Haase and Takuya Maeda.
Description: As artificial intelligence reshapes our digital environments, young people are increasingly engaging in complex and emotionally charged relationships with AI-powered technologies—chatbots, avatars, algorithmic influencers and more (continue reading).

Reactionary Futurism: The Rise of Technofascism in Silicon Valley
Thursday, October 30, 2025
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. (with reception to follow)
Conron Hall, UC
Register now.
Presented by Assistant Professor Becca Lewis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jointly hosted by the FIMS Rogers Chair 2025/26 and the Starling Centre for Just Technologies and Just Societies. 
Speaker bio: Becca Lewis is the Old Dominion Career Development Assistant Professor in Comparative Media Studies at MIT. She was previously a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford University Department of Communication, where she obtained her PhD in 2024. Her work examines the ideas and politics that shape Silicon Valley and the internet (read more).

FIMS Grad Student Seminar with Becca Lewis
Friday, October 31, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Grad students are invited to sign up for a special seminar with Becca Lewis on the morning of October 31. Enrolment is limited. To register or learn more, please contact Amanda Grzyb (agrzyb@uwo.ca) 

Book Launch for An Alphabet for Dreamers: How to See the World with Eyes Closed
Sunday, November 2, 2025
5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Caversham Booksellers
262b Geary Avenue, Toronto
Professor Sharon Sliwinski (author) and Melinda Josie (illustrator) will discuss dreams, attention, and illustration in advance of the release of Professor Sliwinski's upcoming book.

Save the Date - Mega Satellite Constellations
Thursday, November 6, 2025
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory
Presented by Pauline Barmby, Western University, as part of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy's Connecting Research to the Public Good: 2025 Annual Fall Lecture Series (co-organized by Alissa Centivany).
Description: For nearly seven decades, humans have launched satellites into orbit for communication, defense, science, and navigation. In recent years, however, the number of satellites has surged – driven largely by mega constellations like Starlink. These vast networks offer transformative benefits, such as expanding internet access to remote regions and enhancing Earth observation capabilities. Yet they also pose serious risks: environmental damage from rocket launches and atmospheric re-entry, disruption of ground-based astronomical research, and the growing threat of space debris that could jeopardize future missions (continue reading).

Save the Date - Why Critical AI Literacy Matters: implications for policy and practice in the UK and Canada
Monday, November 10, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Online only. Register now
Panel co-chaired by Anabel Quan-Haase.
Description: As AI tools increasingly permeate everyday life, it presupposes that people will have the knowledge and skills to use them. But research has shown that it is essential for people to critically understand, question, and ethically use AI technologies. This suggests that the AI literacy needs to expand to include informed decision-making, critical engagement, and resistance to technological coercion as well as considerations of digital equity (continue reading).


Important Dates


- Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - FIMS Fall Convocation - Afternoon ceremony - Canada Life Place
- Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - Western's Senate and Board of Governors Elections Information Session
- Monday, November 3 - Friday, November 7, 2025 - Fall Reading Week


Awards & Accomplishments

Media Studies PhD candidate Aloa Alota successfully defended his thesis titled Journalism Ownership and Journalistic Autonomy: Using Field Theory to Explore Contrasting Editorial Positions of Two Journalist-Owned and Managed News Media Outlets During Nigeria's 1993 Presidential Election Crisis on October 21.

Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany and colleague Anthony Rosborough were awarded a SSHRC Connection Grant to support the 2026 Canadian Repair Convention which will take place next Spring at Dalhousie University.


Publications & Presentations

Billie Anderson, recent Media Studies PhD graduate, published an article titled "In Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein, what makes us monstrous is refusing to care," in The Conversation on October 13. The article was republished by Yahoo News.

Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany was part of a team of academics who authored a policy whitepaper titled Challenges and Opportunities for a Made-In-Canada Approach to Artificial Intelligence. An article describing the whitepaper's contents titled "A roadmap for a sustainable made-in-Canada approach to AI" was published by the University of Ottawa on October 14.

Professor Edward Comor published the following article:

Comor, E. (2025). Communication, bias, and survival: Harold Innis’ final course. Canadian Journal of Communication, 50(2). https://doi.org/10.3138/cjc-2024-0073 

Anastazia Csegeny, PhD student in Media Studies, presented the following conference papers:

"Emotional Labour and the Silencing of the Blue-Collar Woman Worker in Kate Beaton's Ducks," at the Northeast Popular Culture Association annual fall conference on October 11.

"Verbal-Visual Representations of Stillbirth, Grief, and Self-Healing in Ingrid Chabbert's Waves," at the 2025 Virtual Global Symposium on Pregnancy Loss in the Arts and Social Media, joint-hosted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the Sasso Corbaro Foundation for the Medical Humanities, and Georgetown University, on October 17.


HIS PhD student Eden Hoffer gave two presentations at the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women (NNVAW) conference (October 6-8) titled "Innovating Systems for Intimate Partner Violence Survivor Mothers: Bridging Gaps in Healthcare, Child Protection & Criminal Justice in Canada," and "Trauma- and Violence-Informed Care (TVIC) for Supporting People Who Use Violence in Relationships."

Assistant Professor Selma Purac was a special guest at the Hyland Cinema's screening of Suspiria at the Fifth Annual Horror at the Hyland on October 17. Professor Purac discussed "Women in Horror" with the movie audience.

Associate Professor Joanna Redden provided an invited intervention during a panel on "Transparency and Participation Grounded in Human Rights" as part of an International Symposium on the topic of Artificial Intelligence and the Justice System in Latin America organized by the Office of the Ombudsman-General of the Public Defender's Office of the State of São Paulo and the Electronic Frontier Foundation held in São Paulo Brazil October 9 and 10.

Associate Professor Sarah Smith gave the paper “The Art of NAFTA” at the Universities Art Association of Canada conference on October 17. She also organized and chaired the session “Museums and Migration: Global Flows and the Diaspora Experience.”

Professor Smith also gave the paper “Mobilizing the museum: diaspora communities and cultural institutions” on October 20 at the conference Beyond binaries: Rethinking dis:connectivity and globalisation at the Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.


In the Media

Professor Tim Blackmore was featured in an article titled "Tim Blackmore: The MIT prof who deems war 'curable'," published by the Gazette on October 20.

Brodie Fenlon (MA'99, Journalism) was featured in an article titled "Brodie Fenlon on curiosity and why journalism still matters" published in the Gazette on October 8, 2025.

Journalism alum Michael Finnerty (MA'89) was featured in an article titled "Meet the cheeze whiz: Why Michael Finnerty traded the grind for the rind," published in the Globe and Mail on October 14.

FIMS Postdoctoral Associate Maria Laura Flores Barba was featured in an article titled "New Postdoc Dr. María Laura Flores Barba joins the Surviving Memory Team," published on the Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador website as well as the FIMS website in early October.

Professor Amanda Grzyb's recent event Threads that Unite Us / Hilos que Nos Unen: Collective Art Against Rising Authoritarianism, held on October 2 and 3 was featured in an article titled "Threads that Unite Us weaves solidarity across Western" published in the Gazette on October 15.

Assistant Professor Luke Stark appeared in a CBC Radio online article recapping the 50th anniversary episode of Quirks and Quarks, titled "From 'superhumans' to sequencing: How the next 50 years of science could shape our world," published on October 11.


Activities of Note

Assistant Professor Juan Andrés Bello was the curator of The Telenovela Archives: Serialized Fiction in Cuba Before the Revolution. The exhibition, hosted by the Cuban Heritage Collection – Otto G. Richter Library at the University of Miami, will open on October 30. A version of this exhibition will open at FIMS in November.

Assistant Professor Alissa Centivany provided consultations on AI to the Treasury Board Secretariat, Canadian Psychological Association, and Health Canada as co-chair and core expert of the AI Insights for Policymakers Program.

Additionally, Professor Centivany's CanRepair organization recently published Model Provincial Right to Repair bills, with several provinces already adopting suggested language as they table new legislation.

Lastly, Professor Centivany will participate in the inaugural research meeting of the Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI) along with Assistant Professor Luke Stark, Associate Professor Joanna Redden, and other scholars across Canada.


News from the FIMS Grad Library

Reading Week Hours

The Grad Library will be closed from Saturday, November 1st, to Friday, November 7th. If you would like access to the library during this time, please feel free to email fimslib@uwo.ca to discuss arrangements.

* Regular hours will resume Saturday, November 8th at 12:00pm.

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/)

Tetris Highscore Leaderboard: October 24 – November 21

Think you've got what it takes to top the leaderboard? From October 24 to November 21, drop by the FGL media lounge to play Tetris and log your highest scores on the leaderboard. It’s a low-pressure, high-fun competition where the top three players will walk away with prizes. Whether you're a seasoned player or just learning the ropes, we invite you to join in the fun!

FLG Lunch Hour Movies & Television

Every Tuesday and Friday at noon from now until December, the FIMS Graduate Library is screening films in the media lounge. Showing soon:

Friday, October 24 @ 12pm, Us (2019)
Tuesday, October 28 @ 12pm, The Thing (1982)
Friday, October 31 @ 12pm, Halloween (1978)
Tuesday, November 11 @ 12pm, Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Make of the Month –October – Safety Pin Skull Charm

Get into the spooky spirit this October with our Make of the Month! Drop by anytime to create your own skull charm using black and white seed beads and safety pins. They’re fun, quick to make, and the perfect little accessory you can clip to your backpack, pin to your jacket, or decorate anywhere you like.

All materials are provided, and you can craft your charm whenever it suits you, all month long!


News from Western Libraries

Western University's Open Repository - Come Learn What's New
October 22, 23 and 29
Various Time
Online and In person.
Western Libraries is offering a number of information sessions to introduce Western's new institutional repository platform. The new Open Repository is an open access digital collection that archives, preserves and freely disseminates scholarly and creative works from the faculty, researchers, and students at Western (read more).

Reading and Creative Practice with Ken Lum
Thursday, November 13, 2025
3:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m.
Weldon Community Room
Register online.
Reading is essential in creative practice because it fosters thinking and growth, but it is not enough on its own. Reading becomes pointless if it fails to connect ideas across disciplines. This presents a challenge in art, which is anti-disciplinary and not limited to specific fields. For example, a Harlequin romance novel can be as meaningful as Lacan’s Écrits.

In this lecture, internationally acclaimed artist, writer, and curator Ken Lum will share his personal approach to reading in relation to artmaking. The event launches the Western Libraries Lecture Series, a free public program that fosters conversations between scholars, artists, creators and the Western community. 

Upcoming Research Skills Workshops

For all research skills 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 5, 2025. Please submit any items by noon on Tuesday, November 4.