No. 542 - November 5, 2025

  • Coming Events:

    - Mega Satellite Constellations
    - Why Critical AI Literacy Matters: Implications for policy and practice
    - The Telenovela Archives: Opening Reception
    - The Public Demands of a University Education
    - A Street Sign as Lightning Rod for Black History: Plantation Road, London, Canada
    - How Right-Wing Populism Came to Canada: Lessons for Journalism in the Rise of the Freedom Convoy

  • Important Dates:

    - Friday, November 14, 2025 - Senate (1:30 PM, Great Hall)
    - Sunday, November 16, 2025 - Western's Fall Preview Day

  • News & Announcements:

    - ELIP submissions open on November 15
    - Arts & Humanities offers new Major in Black Studies - Launch event
    - Western GIS Days - November 17-19
    - Ontario Library Service Virtual Conference

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - Melissa Adler
    - Pinar Barlas
    - Roger Chabot
    - Erin Isings
    - Takuya Maeda (with Luke Stark)
    - Jasmine Proctor
    - Hugh Samson
    - Niel Scobie
    - Oren Weisfeld (BA'17, MIT)

  • In the Media:

    - Tim Blackmore
    - Katelyn Esmonde
    - Garth Finch (MMJC'25)
    - Heather Hiscox (MA'87, Journalism)

  • News from the FIMS Grad Library:

    - Reading Week Hours
    - Upcoming Events at the Library
    - Make of the Month

  • News from Western Libraries:

    - Reading and Creative Practice with Ken Lum

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events

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).

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).

The Telenovela Archives: Opening Reception
Thursday, November 13, 2025
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
FNB Atrium (get tickets)
Organized and hosted by Juan Bello and Basil Chiasson.
All are welcome to attend the opening of the Western exhibit of The Telenovela Archives: The history of TV series in Latin America 1950-1999. The project has the structure of an open archive, it is an evolving collection of visual records–knowledge and memories–that will illustrate the huge impact that television, and more specifically serialized fiction, had in the political, social, and cultural history of Latin America during the 1950s and 1960s (read more).

The Public Demands of a University Education
Thursday, November 13, 2025
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Central Library (251 Dundas St.), Lawson Room
Presented by Jennifer Simpson, TMU, 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: The Public Good and higher education are traversing constantly-shifting political, economic, and social terrain. What role do we have — as academic researchers, teachers, students, leaders of research centers and institutes, and members of our communities and society — to connect our work to the Public Good (read more)?

A Street Sign as Lightning Rod for Black History: Plantation Road, London, Canada
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
12:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Register on Zoom
Presented by Basil Chiasson as part of the FIMS Seminar Series 2025/26.
Abstract: This presentation examines the street sign as an example of media in public space whose mnemonic power establishes conditions for struggles over the meaning of the past and the impact of the past on the present. A street named Plantation Road in the suburb of London, Ontario known as Oakridge has become a contested site in recent years after several Londoners have created online petitions to change the name (read more).

How Right-Wing Populism Came to Canada: Lessons for Journalism in the Rise of the Freedom Convoy
Thursday, November 20, 2025
4:45 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Attend in person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom link TBA
Presented by Media Studies PhD candidate Alanna Acchione as part of the 2025/26 Mediations Lecture Series.
Abstract: In December of 2021, some hard right wing activists used social media to organize a demonstration in Ottawa against vaccine mandates, less than 100 participants showed up, and it was ignored. A month later, some of the same individuals helped organize what would become known as the "Freedom Convoy," which became a major news story and transformed Canadian politics. What had changed? There is no evidence that the politics of the organizers had suddenly gained more adherents (read more).


Important Dates

- Friday, November 14, 2025 - Senate (1:30 PM, Great Hall)
- Sunday, November 16, 2025 - Western's Fall Preview Day


News & Announcements

ELIP submissions open on November 15
The Emerging Library and Information Perspective (ELIP) — Western’s student-run, peer-reviewed journal will accept submissions from November 15 to December 19 and be open to all LIS Graduate students, as well as alumni who have received their degrees within the last three years. This year, we are introducing the theme: “Unquiet Stacks: Refusal, Resistance, and Radical Futures”

Libraries and information work are caught in the crosscurrents of change: political pressure, new technologies, growing inequities, and renewed calls for Justice. This issue is about the friction between what is and what could be – those moments when we choose not to stay quiet. We can’t wait to shape this next collection with you!

Arts & Humanities Offers New Major in Black Studies - Launch event
The Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies is launching a new Major in Black Studies on November 20, 2025. To celebrate, poet-laureate of Ontario Matthew-Ray Jones will speak along with Black Studies faculty members at a launch event at 2:30 p.m. in UC 3100. The Major is open to students across the university and everyone is welcome to attend the launch event on November 20.

Western GIS Days - November 17-19
What is GIS Days? Discover the science of where. GIS Days offer you the chance to learn more about geography, mapping and real-world applications of GIS that impact our communities. Drop in and out depending on what presentations pique your interest and listen to presenters from around the world. November 17-19. For more information visit the GIS Days website.

Ontario Library Service Virtual Conference
MLIS students are invited to attend this free virtual conference taking place on November 19. This year's theme is Collaborate and the keynote address will be given by FIMS LIS PhD grad Nicole Dalmer (PhD'18) and is titled "Collaborative Futures: Libraries as Spaces for Belonging and Thriving Communities". For full details and to register, please visit the conference website.


Publications & Presentations

Melissa Adler (Associate Professor) is featured along with 25 other LIS professionals and scholars in the volume Critical Voices in Library and Information Work: Voices and Inspiration from the Discipline, edited by Stephen Bales and Tina Budzise-Weaver, published by Routledge.

Adler also participated in a Roundtable titled "The Trump Effect on Canadian Universities," with Glenn Hendler, Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Charles Reeve, and Art Redding, and moderated by Ross Bullen and Alyssa Maclean, for the meeting of the Canadian Association for American Studies on October 24.

Adler's book, Peculiar Satisfaction: Thomas Jefferson and the Mastery of Subjects is available for preorder. A book launch will be announced soon!

LIS PhD candidate Pinar Barlas and Media Studies PhD student Takuya Maeda attend the Eighth AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society in Madrid, Spain (October 20-22). Pinar presented a paper titled "A Critical Look at a Critical Care Dataset: MIMIC-IV's Construction, Contents, & Consequences," while Takuya presented a paper written by him and Assistant Professor Luke Stark titled "Anthropomorphism as Social Affordance: Charting the Co-Animation of Chatbots into Social 'Agents'."

On October 16, Assistant Professor Roger Chabot gave a talk entitled “Size-Inclusive Accessibility: How to Identify Anti-Fat Bias and Remove Barriers in the Built Environment” to members of the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Professional Network.

Assistant Professor Erin Isings and LIS PhD candidate Hugh Samson published Student Reflections on Mindfully Reframing Feedback for Growth in Academic, Personal, and Professional Settings in The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotlrcacea.2025.1.19788 

Jasmine Proctor, PhD candidate in Media Studies, gave the following presentations:

"'All the girls are girling': Queer transcultural aesthetics within female K-pop performances" at the 2025 International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) Canada Conference hosted at Toronto Metropolitan University on October 17

"Charting the Wave: A Systematic Review of Platform Preferences and K-pop Fandom" at the 2025 Fan Studies Network North America (FSNNA) Virtual Conference on October 24

Niel Scobie, PhD candidate in Media Studies, moderated a panel called "Diaspora Soundclash: Hip-Hop Cartographies" on Friday, November 7, at the University of Toronto. The panel was part of the four-day conference "Hip-Hop Diaspora 2.0: Hip-Hop, Technology and Memory," that ran November 5-8, 2025.

Oren Weisfeld (BA'17, MIT), who is a Canadian freelance sports reporter, published a book about the growth of Canadian basketball called The Golden Generation: How Canada Became a Basketball Powerhouse on November 4. In the book Oren draws on interviews with all the biggest Canadian names associated with the NBA going back to the 1990s.


In the Media

Professor Tim Blackmore was quoted in an article titled "'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels': Inside the harm of #SkinnyTok," published by the Gazette on October 27.

Assistant Professor Katelyn Esmonde was interviewed for a radio segment on London Morning with Andrew Brown titled "Sports fandom as the Blue Jays play in the World Series" on October 27.

Garth Finch (MMJC'25) was featured in an article titled "Cancer research to comms: MMJC grad aims for impact," published by Western News on October 24.

Heather Hiscox (MA'87, Journalism) was featured in an article titled "Heather Hiscox on Her Owen Sound Roots and How Local Radio Shaped a Lifetime in Journalism," published by The Owen Sound Current on October 27.


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/)

Fall into Reading with Judith Butler

Fall is here, the perfect season to get cozy with a good book. And what better way to begin than by diving into the timely work of Judith Butler, one of the most influential thinkers of our time!

Join us for the first FIMS Grad Library Book Club event where we read and discuss a single (and short!) chapter from Butler’s latest book, Who’s Afraid of Gender?

  • Reading: Chapter 3 – Contemporary Attacks on Gender in the United States: Censorship and Rights-Stripping (pp. 93–111), in Butler, J. (2024). Who’s Afraid of Gender?

The reading is available as an eBook through OMNI, and printed copies are also available for pick-up at the FIMS Grad Library for those who prefer reading on paper.

This session invites open conversation about the real-world consequences of anti-gender censorship. In this one-hour discussion, we will explore together:

  • How “gender” became politicized as “ideology”
  • The rise of anti-gender rhetoric in the U.S. education system
  • How censorship and legislation framed around “gender ideology” impact youth and their learning and health

Everyone is welcome whether you identify as queer, a person of colour, an educator, a student, or simply someone who believes in LGBTQIA+ rights, social justice, youth empowerment, and intellectual freedom.

Come read, share and connect! We’re excited to hear your questions, ideas, and thoughts. Together, we’ll make this book club into a space where everyone’s voice matters and solidarity grows.

Thursday, November 27, 2025
12:00pm – 1:00pm
FIMS Grad Library, Reading Room

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!

FGL 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:

Tuesday, November 11 @ 12pm, Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Friday, November 14 @ 12pm, Spirited Away (2001)
Tuesday, November 18 @ 12pm, Party Girl (1995)
Friday, November 21 @ 12pm, 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Make of the Month – November – 3D Printing

3D printing is an increasingly common feature in public and academic libraries, supporting everything from creative programming to hands-on learning. This month’s Make of the Month is a chance to gain practical experience with this versatile technology.

As future library professionals, understanding how 3D printing works, and how to guide others in using it, can be an asset in your career. But it’s also just plain cool. If you need some inspiration, check out thingiverse.com for ideas on what to print.

Drop in anytime during November to explore the process, ask questions, and create your own small print. All materials are provided.


News from Western Libraries

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. 


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 19, 2025. Please submit any items by noon on Tuesday, November 18.