In addition to captivating society and dominating news headlines, the #MeToo movement has earned its place in the history books.
Renowned German scholar Sabine Sielke will explore how #MeToo fits into a larger cultural context during the upcoming talk “Feminism Reloaded? The Serial Debate on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence, or: What’s New about #MeToo,” taking place Thursday, Sept. 12, 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Sankey Chamber at Brock.
Significant shifts in media culture since the 1990s, such as increased digitization, have intersected with important feminist methods, goals and conflicts. Sielke’s talk will situation the #MeToo moment within this broader context.
Her work on sexual violence in North American literature and culture brings a unique perspective to the topic of #MeToo.
As Director of the North American Studies program at Germany’s University of Bonn, Sielke’s research expertise spans 19th and 20th century American literature, modernist and postmodernist culture, as well as 20th century art and popular culture. She also works in literary and cultural theory, gender studies, African American studies and the dialogues between cultural studies and the natural sciences.
The free public talk was spearheaded by the Department of English Language and Literature with support from Social Justice and Equities Studies; Social Justice Research Institute; Department of History; Centre for Canadian Studies; Department of Political Science; Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies; Department of Communications, Popular Culture and Film; Office of Human Rights and Equity; and the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization.
Calling all students and scholars – did you know that there are discount passes for TIFF 2019 just for you?
If you’re a current student or scholar in film or media OR have graduated within the last year, send a message to the Communication, Popular Culture and Film Student Society (CPCFSS) via social media @cpcfss (Twitter and Instagram) or email registration@tiff.net for more information.
Great opportunity to attend the Toronto International Film Festival, visit screenings, conferences and network with some of the leading names in film!
The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Brock Badgers starting pitcher Alex Nolan.
Nolan recently completed his third year in Media and Communications at Brock and becomes the third Badgers baseball player to be signed by an MLB club after Jamaal Joseph in 2004 and Shaun Valeriote in 2012.
Last season, the pitcher posted a stellar 11.72 strikeouts per nine innings. He had a 1.78 earned run average and 1.05 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) in 35.3 innings and walked only eight batters.
“Alex has made the program proud. He’s is the product of the culture that we have been building at Brock,” said head coach Marc LePage, who took over the program in 2016. “He’s been special for us and has turned things around. He’s a guy that works from dawn till dusk.”
Badgers pitching coach Fabio Del Rio has witnessed Nolan’s development first-hand. “Alex has worked really hard for this,” said Del Rio. “We have seen him evolve tremendously during his time at Brock.”
Nolan’s fastball touches 93 miles per hour, but that’s not what sets him apart.
“Alex has outstanding command of all of his pitches and has special off-speed techniques with a dynamic changeup, splitter and curveball,” added Del Rio.
Continuously working on refining his craft, Nolan has been pitching in the Northwoods League for the Kalamazoo Growlers this summer, where he has tossed 13 strikeouts in 11 innings.
With the Blue Jays set to assign Nolan to one of their minor league affiliates on Saturday, he won’t be eligible to return to the Badgers roster under Ontario University Athletics rules.
Associate Professor of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, Jennifer Good wrote a piece published Monday, June 10 in The Conversation about how media literacy should become a fundamental component of education through all levels of schooling.
Good writes:
From fictitious organizations posting polarizing messages on Facebook to robustly researched news stories being labelled “fake,” the pervasive power and importance of the media are clear.
And yet what is most concerning is not that fictitious stories are being shared as “real” and well-researched stories are labelled “fake.” Rather, the biggest problem is the lack of stories about how to thoughtfully address the situation not only through media regulation but also through education.
By focusing on media challenges one at a time as they arise, an opportunity is being missed to address the media’s messages and power systemically. Instead, in something akin to a “whack-a-mole” game, problems with social media are treated as isolated issues that keep popping up.
Continue reading the full article here.
Communication, Popular Culture and Film professors Anthony Kinik and Christie Milliken will be traveling to the University of British Columbia for the 2019 Film Studies Association of Canada (FSAC) annual conference.
They join Peter Lester, Program Chair and FSAC President who organized this year’s conference. The program includes featured speakers, roundtable discussions, screenings, lectures and panel discussions.
June 4
Indigenous Cinemas/Settler Cinemas panel
June 5
Industry and Ephemera panel
Eco-cinema and the Environment
June 6
Legacies of the NFB
Trauma and Torture in Contemporary Television
Earlier this year, Assistant Professor Anthony Kinik’s publication, The City Symphony Phenomenon: Cinema, Art, and Urban Modernity Between the Wars inspired a film series at Anthology Film Archives showcasing the city symphonies phenomenon from the 1920s-present. As close consultations with the organization’s curator wrapped, Dr. Kinik was invited to introduce four programs of films during the opening weekend of the series.
The highlight was Andre Sauvage’s Etudes Sur Paris (1928). Until now, Kinik had only ever seen the YouTube version. Thanks to Anthology Film Archives, a leading centre for the preservation, study and exhibition of film, he was able to view the newly restored 35mm version.
This weekend marks his return to New York City to introduce some expanded cinema films from Expo 67 at Anthology Film Archives’ “Films for the Fair: The World’s Fair & Cinema” series together with Guillaume Lafleur, Director of Programming at the Cinematheque Quebecois. Dr. Kinik contributed the essay “Celluloid City: Montreal and Multi-screen at Expo 67” to the anthology “Reimagining Cinema: Film at Expo 67” and was part of the research team for the project, Cinema Expo 67.
Film Notes – from Anthology Film Archives
Expo 67 was the most moving-image-saturated Exposition of them all. While the films and installations that attracted the most attention were those that experimented, often boldly, with the possibilities of multiple-screen cinema (and are therefore included in the two multi-screen programs elsewhere in this series), Expo 67’s moving-image works ran the gamut of styles and approaches. This program features some of the single-screen highlights, including William Brind’s city-symphony-like IMPRESSIONS OF EXPO 67, two films exploring the pavilions devoted to Canada’s indigenous culture (as well as the experiences of the Inuit artists and craftspeople who participated in the Fair), John & Faith Hubley’s experimental animation URBANISSIMO, and a section of Jud Yalkut’s film METAMEDIA that was shot at the Expo.
William Brind IMPRESSIONS OF EXPO 67 (1967, 8 min, 35mm-to-digital)
Eva Kolcze & Phil Hoffman BY THE TIME WE GOT TO EXPO (2015, 9 min, digital)
Marc Beaudet THE CANADIAN PAVILION, EXPO 67 (1967, 19 min, 35mm-to-digital)
David Millar AKI’NAME (ON THE WALL) (1968, 22 min, 35mm-to-digital)
Michel Régnier INDIAN MEMENTO (1967, 18 min, 35mm-to-digital)
Hubs Hagen EXPOSITION (1967, 10 min, 16mm. Collection print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.)
John & Faith Hubley URBANISSIMO (1967, 6 min, 16mm)
Jud Yalkut EXPO ‘67 (1967, 2 min, 16mm-to-digital, silent)
Total running time: ca. 100 min.
Brock’s Collegiate Leadership Competition (CLC) team members took home the regional championship trophy on Saturday, March 30 in Brantford. The team includes (back row, from left) Ruth Benoy, John Gobin, coach Amber Scholtens, William Durward, Stephanie Lasica (CPCF student) and (front row, from left) Grayson Wadsworth-Hayes and Rebecca Balyk.
Though it was Brock’s first time entering the CLC, the six-member team won the regional competition and later found out they placed 16th overall in a pool of 58 teams when the results for all of North America were released on Thursday, April 25.
The CLC aims to provide students with real-world leadership skills while also teaching them to work collaboratively with others.
Starting in January, the team, comprised of students from several Brock Faculties, practised weekly to prepare for six 45-minute challenges designed to test the abilities of each team member to lead designated tasks and follow processes learned in the previous months.
This year activities included setting up 400 dominos, completing a series of puzzles, silently arranging 100 numbered cards and wagering points before making split-second decisions on questions about the terms and concepts the team had reviewed during their late-night practice sessions.
Coach Amber Scholtens, Manager of Student Leadership and Engagement, said the months of effort the team put in were apparent during the competition. “There were times when my heart was in my throat, and I was not even competing,” she said. “But our team remembered to stay calm and follow the example of each student as they took their turn to lead an activity.”
To learn more about Brock’s CLC team, visit the Student Life and Community Experience website.
Congratulations to Nick Printup who was recently named a recipient of Brock’s Aboriginal Student Services 2019 Aboriginal Achievement Award, along with Lyn Trudeau.
Printup is Haudenosaunee and Anishinabe and is about to complete his first year in Media and Communications studies. He’s a transfer student from Niagara College who has already established himself as a published author and accomplished filmmaker who specializes in telling important stories of Indigenous peoples.
“He is very engaged in the community,” said Sandra Wong, Aboriginal Academic Support Co-ordinator. “This is his first year, but he has already made an impact here. We typically don’t hire our first-year students, but he’s so familiar with the culture and does teachings for our students. He’s very deserving of the award.”
Printup said he takes his role as an Indigenous storyteller seriously.
“For so long, Indigenous content has not been produced by Indigenous people,” he said. “I’d like to work in mainstream media, but we’re put into a predicament where we have the ability to tell our own stories so we should be doing that. There’s a void that needs to be filled.”
Wong said the Aboriginal Achievement Awards give staff in the Aboriginal Student Services department an “overwhelming sense of pride.”
“Seeing how these students develop in the growth of their knowledge, we probably learn more from them than they learn from us,” she said.
Read the full Brock News story here
