Hello everyone,
Thank you for your interest in attending Sara Grimes's talk for the UofT
Critical Computing Speaker Series. Please find the Zoom link below to join
the talk:
*Topic*: Digital Playgrounds: The Hidden Politics of Children's Online Play
Spaces, Virtual Worlds, and Connected Games
*Time*: May 25, 2022 02:00 PM America/Toronto
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Meeting ID: 896 6440 0007
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Best Regards,
Organizers
Dear Colleagues,
The next lecture on our Critical Computing Series is on May 25. The speaker
is Sara Grimes of UofT iSchool and she will be talking about her newly
published book, "Digital Playgrounds". Please find details about the talk
below.
Best Regards,
Ishtiaque
==
Syed Ishtiaque Ahmed
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science
Faculty Fellow, Schwartz Reisman Institute <https://www.torontosri.ca/>
The University of Toronto
Bahen Centre for Information Technology, Room 5262
Saint George Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2E4, Canada
Ph: +1 647 220 3482
web: https://www.ishtiaque.net/
My Availability: Google Calendar Link
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=ishtiaque.uoft%40gmail.com&c…>
==
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Priyank Chandra <priyank.chandra(a)utoronto.ca>
Date: Sat, May 21, 2022 at 6:01 PM
Subject: Critical Computing Seminar (May 25): "Digital Playgrounds: The
Hidden Politics of Children's Online Play Spaces, Virtual Worlds, and
Connected Games" by Sara Grimes
To: ISCHOOL-FAC-REG-L(a)LISTSERV.UTORONTO.CA <
ISCHOOL-FAC-REG-L(a)listserv.utoronto.ca>
Cc: Ishtiaque Ahmed <ishtiaque(a)cs.toronto.edu>, Robert Soden <
robert.soden(a)utoronto.ca>
Dear All,
We are happy to announce the *May* edition of the Critical Computing
seminar series. This a monthly online seminar where we invite scholars to
discuss topics in critical computing. The objective of the seminar is to
create a broader understanding of computing from different ethical, social,
and cultural perspectives. You will find more information about this
seminar series and upcoming speakers by following the link:
https://sites.google.com/view/uoft-critical-computing/seminar-series
This month (May, 2022), *Dr. Sara Grimes*, Associate Professor in the
Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, will give a book
talk “*Digital
Playgrounds: The Hidden Politics of Children's Online Play Spaces, Virtual
Worlds, and Connected Games*” on *Wednesday, May 25, 2pm to 3:30pm EST.*
We invite you all to join the seminar. Please check the following link for
more details about the seminar at:
https://sites.google.com/view/uoft-critical-computing/seminar-series/sara-g….
The registration link is at: https://bit.ly/3NtYJNP
I have appended the seminar details at the bottom of this email. Please
feel free to forward this invitation to anyone interested (within and
outside UofT).
We look forward to seeing you all at the seminar.
Best Regards,
Priyank Chandra (On behalf of the Organizers)
Assistant Professor
Faculty of Information
University of Toronto
*Book Title: Digital Playgrounds: The Hidden Politics of Children's Online
Play Spaces, Virtual Worlds, and Connected Games*
Sara Grimes, Director of the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) and
Semaphore Labs and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Information at the
University of Toronto
Twitter: @smgrimes
Time: 25 May, 2022 from 2 PM - 3.30 PM, EST
*Abstract:* Digital games and online play spaces can provide children with
extremely valuable tools for collaborating, creating, learning, and having
fun. Digital games can provide unique forums where kids can exercise their
agency and engage in a meaningful shared cultural experience. In many
cases, however, this potential is diminished by the prioritization of
commercialization and the enrollment of child users into big data
economies. In this talk, I present four tendencies that dominate and shape
the child-specific commercial digital play landscape: a deep disconnect
between hegemonic articulations of children’s privacy and children’s need
for autonomous spaces and interactions; a lack of support for children’s
freedom of expression online and its positioning in opposition to
children’s “safety”; unanswered questions about who owns children’s digital
content and shared culture; and the problematic application of both
traditional and emerging models of corporate control, monetization, and
commercialization to artifacts designed and targeted to young children. The
prevalence of these tendencies has profound implications for children’s
digital play, sense of “self” (identities), and rights. I argue that the
concretization of these tendencies as design features and quasi-legal
“rules of play” highlights the urgent need for a cross-sector collaboration
aimed at better supporting children's rights and interests in connected
play environments.
*Bio:* Dr. Sara M. Grimes is Director of the Knowledge Media Design
Institute (KMDI) and Semaphore Labs and Associate Professor in the Faculty
of Information at the University of Toronto. Her research and teaching are
centred in the areas of children’s digital media culture(s) and critical
theories of technology, with a focus on digital games. Her published work
explores the commercialization of children’s play culture and creative
expression, discussions of intellectual property and fair dealing in
child-specific digital environments, as well as the legal and ethical
dimensions of marketing to children online. Her new book, Digital
Playgrounds: The Hidden Politics of Children’s Online Play Spaces, Virtual
Worlds, and Connected Games, was published by the University of Toronto
Press in August 2021. Community outreach is a core part of Dr. Grimes’s
professional practice, and she regularly speaks at media/cultural industry
conferences, participates in policy consultations, and engages in action
research projects and cross-sector partnerships. Recently, Professor Grimes
was awarded a three-year SSHRC Insight Grant to lead a new trans-national,
cross-sector research collaboration entitled Children and Age-Appropriate
Game Design: Children’s and Developers’ Experiences of How Digital Games
are Classified, Rated and Designed for Children. This project will revisit
how children’s games are regulated in both Canada and the UK, particularly
around questions of children’s privacy and other rights, and the ethics of
in-game advertising and monetization.