Tuesday, August 8, 2023

[Millennials’ Voices] Issue 10: Empowerment through Adversity: Journeys of Self-Discovery in Challenging Times

INTRODUCTION by Kathy Dobson In this special issue, we present a collection of deeply personal essays that share the common theme of self-discovery and empowerment amidst challenging circumstances. In these four articles, we learn about the transformative journeys of four students who grappled with some of life’s biggest challenges, including... More

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

A Completely Unremarkable Essay

By Sadie Lourie Weise I resent being a pleasure to have in class. In elementary school, parent-teacher interviews were plagued with this saying. But I always believed it was a sickly sweet, flowery way to say completely unremarkable. For the first ten years of my education, I resided in the blind spots of my... More

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

One of the “lucky” ones: The silent struggle faced by the graduating class of 2023

By Emma Cole The whole thing feels sort of like a dream now. What were once freshly laid floor stickers measured exactly six feet apart are now nothing but scraps of sticky residue, the words “STAY APART” no longer legible. Every once in a while, I’ll see a blue surgical mask abandoned on the... More

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

I was always an anxious person but being locked inside all day sleeping made my anxiety skyrocket

By Jack Drummond Depending on what student you ask you may hear that COVID-19 was a benefit to them and their studies while others may claim it was a negative through and through. I sit somewhere in the middle of this spectrum and assume most other students do as well. COVID impacted everyone in... More

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

My Hijab, My Choice

by Mauhiba Mollah Every morning, I stand in front of my closet. I open my dresser drawer. My eyes are met with garments of all manner of colours and fabrics – rectangle clothes of forest green jersey, black satin, teal-blue cotton, and cream chiffon. Each day, I carefully choose one to wrap around my... More

Friday, June 16, 2023

A new ALiGN Postdoctoral Research Fellow – Kathy Dobson

We're thrilled to announce that Dr. Kathy Dobson will be spending her academic year of 2023-2024 with the ALiGN Media Lab as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. An award-winning author, journalist, and scholar, Dr. Dobson’s research interests are in the area of media, justice, and political action, particularly focusing on political usages and... More

Wednesday, March 15, 2023

[Millennials’ Voices] Issue 9: Activism, Slacktivism, and the Millennials

INTRODUCTION by Merlyna Lim Is social media activism merely slacktivism? Are the millennials largely slacktivist? What do millennials think about social media activism? Undoubtedly, social media has revolutionized communication between individuals, brand-consumer interactions, and the way people receive news and information. However, the impact of... More

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

From activist media to algorithmic politics [NEW PUBLICATION]

Just published: Lim, M. (2023) From activist media to algorithmic politics: The Internet, Social Media & Civil Society in Southeast Asia, in E. Hansson & M. Weiss (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Civil and Uncivil Society in Southeast Asia, pp. 25-44. #openaccess #free #nopaywall... More

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Algorithmic Life & the Future of Us

In this 4min video, Merlyna Lim offered 3 challenges in facing the increasingly algorithmicized future. The video is an excerpt from 45min studium generale Merlyna delivered 3 months ago to hundreds of first year students from various disciplines, including engineering, business, and social sciences. It's titled "No way home: Algorithmic Life... More

Friday, July 15, 2022

Alternative Imaginations: Confronting and Challenging the Persistent Centrism

New publication! Lim, M. (2022). Alternative Imaginations: Confronting and Challenging the Persistent Centrism in Social Media-Society Research. Journal of Asian Social Science Research, 4(1), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.15575/jassr.v4i1.59 Abstract This article attempts to intervene the current trend in social media research that, to a certain... More

Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Algorithms of Rage to Rhythms of Change

"Algorithms of Rage to Rhythms of Change" - a closing keynote speech, "Visions of Change" conference, University of Calgary, 11 May 2022, by Merlyna Lim https://bit.ly/Lim_VoC Part I: "Algorithms of Rage" https://youtu.be/TLodwU5ZvrU - 5'59" Part II: "The Rhythm of Us" https://youtu.be/8F1noEbb_d4 - 8'16" Part III: "The AlgoRhythms of Rohingya and... More

Sunday, May 15, 2022

How Social Media Rewards Love & Hate

In this 3 min video, Merlyna Lim offers publics some tips on how to thoughtfully engage with social media. A video taken from FPA Carleton University's Another Take interview: "Driven by Emotion: How Social Media Rewards Love &... More

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Brandon Rigato presented at the House of Commons

On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Brandon Rigato gave a Witness statement for the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security panel for the study of the Rise of Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE) in Canada. Rigato is a doctoral candidate (ABD) of Communication and Media Studies at the School of... More

Saturday, March 19, 2022

#Coronaconspiracy [Publication]

If you're interested in the relationship between the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, conspiracy theories, social media (affordances), and algorithms, then this newly published article from Merlyna Lim is for you. Lim, M. (2022). #Coronaconspiracy: Algorithms, Users, and Conspiracy Theories in Social Media. M/C Journal, 25(1).... More

Friday, February 25, 2022

Freedom Convoy network [Work in Progress]

Merlyna Lim posted this visualization on Twitter. It's work in progress but, nevertheless, very helpful -- it went viral! Stay tune for updated version.... More

Thursday, February 24, 2022

[Millennials’ Voices] Issue 8: By Gen Z for Gen Z

By Ghadah Alrasheed Introduction If you ask anyone what defines Generation Z, their instant response would be probably “social media”. Words such as “digital-savvy” emerged to describe millennials’ use of new media but things with Generation Z seem to have shifted to another level of digital use and consumption. And this is not strange... More

Thursday, February 24, 2022

StoryGround

By Siqi Wu Click here to visit the website  Nowadays, most media is adult-dominated and contains many stereotypical images of young people. Therefore, I chose to make media that is not only directed towards young people but also produced by our youth. As a member of Gen Z, I must admit that we... More

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Waddle TV

By Sophie Marvell Click here for a full view of "Waddle TV": The app design I have created is for an application aimed to create educational, and entertaining content for children at the ages of 0-6. The app is called “Waddle TV”. What inspired this app design was the need for advertisement-free and education/entertaining... More

Thursday, February 24, 2022

CyberSupport: Youth, Social Media and Cyberbullying

By Thomas Pouta Click here to visit the website  In discussions of youth and their consumption of contemporary media, cyberbullying emerges as one of the most pressing issues. This project is designed to address this issue through stories inspired by the aesthetics and storylines of vintage adventure games such as Mytsery House... More

Thursday, February 24, 2022

YouthMove: App for Activism

By Haylea Coates Scroll down the above slides for a full view of the app design This is my design for a Canadian youth activism application, which I have named YouthMove. This application compiles resources for youth to learn about, discuss, and safely prepare to protest social injustice. YouthMove allows users to organize and... More

Friday, January 28, 2022

Pandemic Narration “When It is Over”

It is not easy to be hopeful these days. This pandemic narration "When It Is Over" is about finding and keeping the spark of hope. It is a 3-minutes pandemic narration in English/Indonesian, a voiceover in Indonesian & illustrated with one-line-drawings. ::: "When It is Over"  Narrators: Merlyna Lim & Novel Tjahyadi Scriptwriter &... More

Thursday, January 20, 2022

The Diary of a Pandemic Student

Editor’s note: What happens when an international student, thanks to the travel restrictions associated with Covid-19, suddenly finds themselves trapped in their host country? Here’s one student’s experience.   By Rachael Ibeh In 2017, I migrated from Nigeria to Canada for my University education. I had just turned 17 at that time, and it... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Issue 7: Reimagine Race

  By Ghadah Alrasheed   Introduction Many would argue that McLuhan’s main legacy culminates in his prophecy about the “global village” and anticipation of the internet. In popular usage, the global village has become connotative of a techno-utopian vision, suggesting peace and harmony enabled by electronic communications. It has... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Digital Painting: “bad day”

. By Heather McLaughlin This piece, entitled, bad day, is based on the work on Vivek Shraya’s 2018 book, I’m Afraid of Men. The book details Shraya’s experience as a transwoman of colour as she navigates a Eurocentric world of surveillance, internalized and externalized forms of misogyny, culminating in her fear of men and... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Poem: Do we Really have Artistic Vision?

  By Grace Perkunder   Lines are scribbled on a canvas Illustrating the page With colours and shapes A finished piece It is colourful and abstract It appeals to the eyes I squint my eyes and try to write a story in my mind about it But it doesn’t answer questions Or ask them... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Poem: Hashtag Concrete

By Tyreike Reid   Hashtag Concrete The only thing stronger than the bullets hitting the floor Maybe if my skin was made of concrete I wouldn’t have to fight Maybe if my bones were made of concrete I wouldn’t have to run Crawl into tiny spaces where I am rejected Filling rooms that do... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Collage: Too Black & Not Black Enough

  By Taia Goguen-Garner Too Black & Not Black Enough is a collection of family photos from my early childhood. This collage depicts being of mixed race (Black & White) and growing up in a predominantly White family. Growing up in a predominantly White family, my sister, cousin, and I were the Black people... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Infographic: Re-Imagining Normative Presentations of Maternal Experiences

  .   Inforgraphic by Lalla Maiga   By Lalla Maiga The knowledge we have on birthing women and their childbirth experience emphasizes predominantly white, middle-class, and female adults. Most existing studies on pregnant women rarely focus on the implications of different social class locations on... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Collage: Investigations of Mixed ‘Eurasian’ Ancestry

    By Olivia B. Castaneda In the book Orientalism, Edward Said says “Everyone who writes about the Orient must locate himself vis-a-vis the Orient”. In other words, the writer of the Orient must align with the position of the Orient. However, Said’s insights on such tensions of authorship between the writer and the... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Collage: Stubbornly White – Reimagining British Media

  By Arifah Baksh While global media is generally moving away from prejudice and racism, British media has fallen behind. My collage illustrates racism in British media by comparing headlines written about Kate Middleton with those of Meghan Markle. Meghan is biracial and was born in Los Angeles, whereas Kate is White and was... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Sketch: Reimagine the “Pussy Hat”

  By Sheridan Worth The Women’s March is a reoccurring event that encourages activism all over North America to march for women's rights. Within the last couple of years, the march had a new approach that encouraged women to wear pink hats that represented a “pussy cat” when marching. This idea came to life... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Painting: 3omri

    By Dorota Babiakova My deep reverence of women is illustrated throughout my work as a visual artist. I have explored various themes of womanhood and femininity independent of the male gaze, which has often narrated societal perceptions of women. My intention as an artist is to highlight the raw beauty and power... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Photomontage: Why we must Ogle at Google

  By Grace Girotte The photomontage, titled “G(O)ogol”, addresses the interlocking of race, gender and class while revealing structural inequalities reproduced by the search engine of Google. It aims to draw attention to “algorithmic oppression” and systemic racism encoded in software and inherent in technology’s predictive... More

Thursday, June 10, 2021

[Millennials’ Voices] Podcast: Charlie Hebdo through a Psychopathological Perspective

  By Ashee Pamma My main interest undertaking this project concerns this absurdity that Charlie Hebdo became, shifting from their fundamental leftist, libertarian ideology, going after politicians, notably the far-right National Front to extremism, hate speech and hardcore racism. The terrorist attack and outpour of support, from across the... More

Monday, May 17, 2021

Outside of the Realm of Privilege

By Emma Pietrobon Growing up in suburban Orleans, I have been sheltered from many things. For the most part, seeing the effects of homelessness and poverty was not a part of my everyday life. I was usually surrounded by wealth, whiteness and privilege - most of my friends lived in big, suburban homes in... More

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