No. 558 - October 28, 2026

  • Coming Events:

    - Ethics Workshop with Dr. Trevor J. Bieber
    - In Conversation with... Melissa Adler
    - FIMS Faculty Pastries & Pedagogy
    - FIMS TA Pizza & Pedagogy
    - Politics of Perreo: Cultural Morbidity through Reguetón in Medellín
    - Film Screening: Ghost in the Machine
    - What is Uncomputable
    - Save the Date: Carry with Care

  • Important Dates:

    - Sunday, November 8, 2026 - Fall Preview Day

  • News & Announcements:

    - Ontario Library Service - Virtual Conference
    - AI, Health Information, and Healthcare: HEAL at Lunch Starts January 13

  • Awards & Accomplishments:

    - Amber Matthews (PhD'24, LIS)
    - Brittany Melton

  • Publications & Presentations:

    - Aloa Alota
    - Hillary Anderson
    - Lucas Besen
    - Z Coltman
    - Anastazia Csegeny
    - Maria-Gorretti Ekhorutomwen
    - Selena Gignac
    - Eden Hoffer
    - Meli Limani
    - Brittany Melton
    - Selma Purac
    - John Reed

  • In the Media:

    - Jacquie Burkell
    - Alissa Centivany
    - Eden Hoffer
    - Selma Purac

  • Additional Activities of Note:

    - Alissa Centivany

  • News from the FIMS Grad Library:

    - FGL Micro Grant | Sponsored LIS Student Registration for Child & Youth Expo 2026

  • Next Issue:


Coming Events

Ethics Workshop with Trevor J. Bieber
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Attend in-person: FNB 4130
Attend online: Zoom Webinar
Description: Graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty and staff are invited to a practical workshop on navigating the research ethics application process. Dr. Trevor J. Bieber, Western Research Ethics Officer, will provide guidance and practical tips to help participants develop protocols, complete applications, and understand key steps in the review process. Participants are encouraged to bring their current protocol and questions for an interactive session.

In Conversation with... Melissa Adler
Thursday, October 29, 2026
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Scholar's Lab, Weldon Library (ground floor)
Description: Join Western Libraries for In Conversation..., our lunchtime series featuring Western faculty discussing their latest books. Melissa Adler will discuss her book, Peculiar Satisfaction: Thomas Jefferson and the Mastery of Subjects. Moderated by Geoffrey Robert Little, Vice Provost and University Librarian.

FIMS Faculty Pastries & Pedagogy
Tuesday, November 3, 2026
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
4th Floor Lunchroom
Description: Who doesn't like caffeine - or talking about teaching? The goal is to oAer a relaxed space for colleagues to connect over coAee and pastries while discussing teaching strategies, exploring classroom challenges, and sharing what’s been working. Seeking advice? Unsure about an assessment? Excited by a new strategy you’re trying out? Looking to exchange ideas? Or, maybe you just want to caffeinate while chatting about teaching? Please pop by!

FIMS TA Pizza & Pedagogy
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
12:00 p.m.
FNB 4130
Description: The next Pizza & Pedagogy session will focus on grading. All levels of TA experience are welcome so that we can crowdsource people's experiences for incoming teaching assistants - all while enjoying pizza.

Politics of Perreo: Cultural Morbidity through Reguetón in Medellín
Wednesday, November 4, 2026
12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
FNB 4070
Description: Presented by Santiago Izaciga-Vega, Media Studies PhD student, as part of the 2026/27 Starling Centre Brown Bag Series.

Film Screening: Ghost in the Machine
Thursday, November 5, 2026
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Hyland Cinema, 240 Wharncliffe Road South
Description: Join the Starling Centre for a free screening of the documentary Ghost in the Machine, followed by a Q&A with Dr. Mel Hogan, who is featured in the film. Ghost in the Machine is a gripping and urgently relevant investigative documentary that exposes the buried history of artificial intelligence, not as a neutral system of algorithms, but as a technology shaped by racism, misogyny, eugenics, and entrenched structures of power long before it entered everyday life (read more).

What is Uncomputable
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
FNB 4070
Description: Presented by Jen Wilson, MA in Media Studies student, as part of the 2026/27 Starling Centre Brown Bag Series.

Save the Date: Carry with Care
Friday, November 13, 2026
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Weldon Library, Community Room
Register (registration not required)
Description: Want to learn how to keep yourself and your friends safe? Join this interactive workshop to learn about harm reduction, overdose response, and naloxone while creating your own customized naloxone pouch. No prior knowledge required. Organized by MLIS students in Library Programming. Drop-ins are welcome. Open to all. See the event poster.


Important Dates

- Sunday, November 8, 2026 - Fall Preview Day


News & Announcements

Ontario Library Service Virtual Conference
MLIS students are invited to the Ontario Library Service Virtual Conference on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, from 10 AM to 4 PM. This year's theme is Strengthen. Public libraries are steadfast pillars of support; their collective strength continues in the face of new pressures and evolving challenges. This year's conference celebrates and reaffirms our shared commitment to stronger communities. Dr. Andrew B. Campbell will give a keynote presentation. More information. Register.

AI, Health Information, and Healthcare: HEAL at Lunch Starts January 13
Interested in how AI is shaping health information and healthcare? HEAL at Lunch (HAL) is a free, virtual webinar series from Schulich Continuing Professional Development, beginning January 13, 2027. Each one-hour session pairs approximately 30 minutes of learning with 30 minutes of questions and discussion. Faculty, researchers, staff, and healthcare professionals are all welcome—including those exploring the connections between information, technology, and health. No clinical background or prior AI experience is needed. Join the mailing list once to receive session topics, speaker information, and calendar invitations, then attend the sessions that interest you.


Awards & Accomplishments

Amber Matthews (PhD'24, LIS) won the ALISE 2026 Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition with her co-authored paper 'Like We Keep Moving': Core Lessons for Youth Librarianship from Black-Led Community Programs.

Media Studies PhD candidate Brittany Melton successfully defended her thesis, titled Untangling Threads: The Realities of Gender Discussions in the Femosphere on Monday, October 26.


Publications & Presentations

Aloa Alota (PhD'25, Media Studies) organized an open panel at the 50th meeting of the Society for the Social Studies of Sciences (4S) recently held in Toronto (October 7-10). The panel was titled, Fields of technoscientific power: Journalisms, platforms and the reconfiguration of autonomy. It was a multi-session panel with a total of a dozen presentations drawn from scholars working in Asia, Europe, as well as North America. Aloa provided an opening statement which can be read here.

HIS PhD candidate Maria-Gorretti Ekhorutomwen was one of the participants in Aloa's panel at 4S, serving as a discussant and providing feedback and questions for four presenters.

The MediaCom 1020 teaching team, including Hillary Anderson (LIS PhD), Z Coltman (LIS PhD), Selena Gignac (LIS PhD), Brittany Melton (Media Studies PhD), Lecturer John Reed, and Lucas Riboli Besen (HIS PhD), has been busy sharing its innovative instructional design, unique at Western University. Recent presentations include:

Selena Gignac and Z Coltman presented: “Co-Organizing and Collaborating for Sustainable Teaching” at Own Your Future: Conference on Teaching, Western University (July 2026).

Selena Gignac and Hillary Anderson presented: “More Than ‘Just Markers’: Building the Teaching Team We All Need for Large-Course Instruction” at Graduate Students/Post-docs Teaching in Higher Education: Empowering the Next Generation of Educators (iTeach) (August 2026).

John Reed and Selena Gignac participated on the Faculty Panel on Scaling Teaching for Large Classes, hosted by the CTL (August 2026).


Selena Gignac also had other academic engagements to report, including:

Selena Gignac was an organizing panelist for “Building Peace in Times of Disruption: Belonging, Voice, and Global Action” at the 21st YMCA World Council (July 2026).

Selena Gignac was invited to deliver a featured video presentation on knowledge justice and transformative popular education, representing the North American region at the Latin America and Caribbean Camp Network (September 2026).

Selena Gignac presented “Narratives of Harm: Far-Right Mobilization and the Targeting of Canadian Public Library Workers” at ReSource: Transforming Reading and Source Criticism in Digital Cultures, a research school funded by the Swedish Research Council. (October 2026).


Anastazia Csegeny, Media Studies PhD candidate, presented two papers:

"Wordless Woodcuts: Lynd Ward and the [Silent] Foundations of the Graphic Novel" at the Northeast Popular Culture Association annual fall conference on October 15.

"Visualizing and Remembering Birth through Still Life Painting in Elisabeth Belliveau's Birth Story" at the 3rd Virtual Global Symposium on Reproduction, joint-hosted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell, the Sasso Corbaro Foundation for the Medical Humanities, and Georgetown University, on October 16.


PhD HIS candidate Eden Hoffer co-authored an article titled "AI can predict intimate partner violence before survivors disclose. But should it?" published in The Conversation on October 14,2026.

Meli Limani, Health Information Science PhD candidate, presented a paper titled “Presumed Capable: Digital Health Literacy, AI Knowledge, and the Limits of Transparency-Based AI Governance” at the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) Annual Meeting in Toronto. The paper examines whether patients have the knowledge and digital health literacy needed to evaluate AI use in their care, and how these capacities relate to trust, disclosure, and consent. The presentation was part of the panel Critical AI Literacy: Power, Governance, and Social Futures organized by the Starling Centre. See the following link for more information.

Meli also published a paper co-authored with Merita Limani, Remzije Istrefi, Meli Limani, and Glorieuse Uwizeye titled “Long-term rehabilitation needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Kosovo: A scoping review of challenges and policy directions” in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences. The review examines the long-term physical, mental health, psychosocial, economic, and social rehabilitation needs of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in Kosovo, and identifies system-level barriers to comprehensive rehabilitation.

Assistant Professor Selma Purac participated as an expert in a Q&A for the Hyland's special showing of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Fright Night, on October 16.


In the Media

Professor Jacquelyn Burkell was a guest on CBC Radio's Afternoon Drive with Matt Allen, in a segment titled "Komoka talk aimed to protect people's privacy while playing these games," to discuss a presentation she was scheduled to give about online privacy at the Komoka Library.

Associate Professor Alissa Centivany was quoted in an article titled, "Ontario private school scrutinized over class video surveillance, making kids watch themselves 'misbehaving,'" published by CBC News on October 23.

Professor Centivany was also interviewed for an article titled "Why some Ontario voters are turning to AI chatbots for 2026 municipal elections", published by Global News on October 24.

A research-oriented Q&A featuring HIS PhD candidate Eden Hoffer was published on the Rotman Institute of Philosophy's website. Eden was interviewed as part of the Rotman Trainee Partnership Initiative.

Assistant Professor Selma Purac was interviewed for an article titled, "Wired headphones? Point-and-shoots? What's behind Gen Z's retro tech resurgence," published on SAN.com on October 11.


Additional Activities of Note

Associate Professor Alissa Centivany provided expert testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology in support of Bill C-267 - An Act to Establish a National Framework to Promote the Durability of Electronic Products and Essential Home Appliances, on October 22.


News from the FIMS Grad Library

FGL Micro Grant | Sponsored LIS Student Registration for Child & Youth Expo 2026 (November 10, 2026)

On behalf of the FIMS Graduate Library, Director Melanie Mills is delighted to announce two fully-sponsored seats for current LIS graduate students (MLIS or PhD LIS) interested in participating in the upcoming 2026 Child and Youth Expo, taking place here in London on Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 at the London Public Library, Wolf Performance Hall.
    
Expressions of interest are invited from currently enrolled LIS graduate students who are available to attend the full day, in person event and who are willing to summarize and share a post-Expo reflection (e.g., a brief synopsis of your experience at the Expo, and the value of the opportunity for you as a graduate student and/or aspiring professional).

All currently enrolled LIS graduate students at FIMS are encouraged to respond to this Call. To do so, please send an email to fimslib@uwo.ca with the subject line: 2026 | Child & Youth Expo LIS Student Grant, which includes:

  • confirmation of your availability to attend the full Expo, in person (Tuesday, November 10th, 2026);
  • a brief statement of interest (i.e., a few sentences describing why you are keen to participate); and last,
  • your willingness, as a condition of receiving funding, to prepare a reflection piece on your experience, to be submitted no later than November 27th, 2026).

Expressions of interest will be accepted until 12pm, EST. on Monday, November 2nd. Successful applicants will be informed of their receipt of funding on or before Wednesday, November 4th, 2026.

N.B. Funding will cover the full cost of registration; any additional expenses (e.g., travel, meals) are the responsibility of EXPO participants.

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 11. Please submit your items by noon on Tuesday, November 10.