Juan Escobar-Lamanna is a Ph.D. candidate in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies.
His dissertation focuses on analyzing videogame accessibility through
a critical disability framework, considering industry preferred player
identities (who games are made for) and how videogames and the
conversations we have about games can be more inclusive and accessible.
His other research interests include: communities created around
videogames, live-streaming on Twitch.tv, and the voluntary digital
labour undertaken by modders and other videogame-focused communities in
relation to exploitable labour.
He received his M.A. in Contemporary Art Histories: New Media from
OCAD University and has a B.A. in Cinema and Media Studies from York
University.
Escobar-Lamanna, Juan. "Microsoft's ban on third-party controllers on the Xbox excludes some disabled gamers from using the device." The Conversation. Dec. 5, 2023. https://theconversation.com/microsofts-ban-on-third-party-controllers-on-the-xbox-excludes-some-disabled-gamers-from-using-the-device-217742.
Escobar-Lamanna, Juan and Adan Jerreat-Poole. "Critical Play and Crip Game Design." In Digital Methods for Disability Studies, edited by Esther Ignagni, Adan Jerreat-Poole, Hannaford Edwards, and Tali Cherniawsky. Toronto: Toronto Metropolitan University, 2022. https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/digitaldisabilitystudies/.
Escobar-Lamanna, Juan and Adan Jerreat-Poole. "Interactive Fiction/Twine Workshop." In Digital Methods for Disability Studies,
edited by Esther Ignagni, Adan Jerreat-Poole, Hannaford Edwards, and
Tali Cherniawsky. Toronto: Toronto Metropolitan University, 2022.
https://pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca/digitaldisabilitystudies/.
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Conference Activity
Papers Presented
"No Place for Easy-Mode?: The Sociological Accessibility of FromSoftware Games." Popular Culture Association National Conference. Chicago, IL. March 37-30, 2024.
"Playing Videogames Their Own Way: Disability, Industry, and Non-Normative Play(ers)." Faculty of Information and Media Studies Mediations Lecture Series, Western University, London, ON. Mar. 9, 2023.
"Demons, Doom Slayers, and Twitter: Tweet2Doom as Critical Play on an Advertising Platform." Popular Culture Association National Conference (virtual), April 13-16, 2022.
"Poké Balls and Produsers: Free Labour and Twitch Plays Pokémon." Recuperating Joy: Symbiotic Connections, Optimisms, and Unproblematic Faves, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON (virtual). May 8-9, 2021.
Conference/Event Organization
Organizer: "Conversation on Access." Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University, London, ON. Nov. 8, 2023.
Organizer & chair: "BLUE SKY BIG IDEAS SESSION: Institutional Support and Guidance for Multimodal Scholarship." 73rd International Communication Association Conference, Toronto. May 26, 2023.
Organizer: "Conversations on Access: Black Disability Activism." Faculty of Information and Media Studies, Western University, London, ON. Mar. 2, 2023.
Organizer & moderator: "Communicating
Multi-Modally: Research and Expressive Culture" (ICA preconference event).
72nd International Communication Association Conference, Paris. May 26, 2022.
Organizer & moderator: "Networks of Experience: Art and (Dis)embodiment." OCAD University, Toronto, ON, Mar. 15-16, 2019.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Western University, 2022-2023, $15,000.
Western University Graduate Research Scholarship, Western University, 2022-2023, $6,000.
Ontario Graduate Scholarship, Western University, 2021-2022, $15,000.
Western University Graduate Research Scholarship, Western University, 2020-2021, $6,650.
Dean's Entrance Scholarship, Western University, 2020, $5,000.
Contemporary Art, Design, and New Media Art Histories Program Award: Honorable Mention, OCAD University, 2019, $400.
OCAD University President's Scholarship (CADN), OCAD University, 2017-2019, $18,750.
