Steve Gennaro
Dr. Steve Gennaro is one of the founding members of the Children, Childhood, and Youth Studies Program at York University in Toronto, Canada, where he has taught for the last two decades. He regularly publishes in areas related to the philosophy of technology, education, critical theory, and media studies, and all with a lens toward young people’s lives and the UNCRC.
Email: sgennaro@yorku.ca
Research Interests: I am a scholar and activist for children’s rights. My research examines young people’s play, work, activism, and agency in digital spaces and argues the importance of critical media literacy – and critical digital literacy for young people’s participation in civil society. More specifically, I focus on the relationships, activities, and situations of young people’s experiences with social media. I practice a rights-based approach that incorporates ethnographic research in partnership with local school boards, NGOs, and governing bodies while using qualitative research methods. I apply critical theory with an intersectional lens to investigate young people’s protection, provision, and participation rights in virtual spaces. This research provides a deeper understanding of how young people make sense of their place in civil society as citizens in an increasingly digital world. Voice and presence are essential for children’s rights, and this is equally true in networked publics.
Primary Areas of Study: Social Media, Critical Social Theory, Frankfurt School, Intersectionality, Media Studies, Philosophy of Education, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Philosophy of Technology, Young People, Play, Social Justice, Digital Spaces, Critical Media Literacy, Contemporary Children’s Culture.