Encoding Steps, Decoding Stories
April 22, 2022
Co-organized by Dr. Kim Knight and myself, this one-day workshop brought together members of the UT Dallas and DFW community to think through the politics of migration narratives and how we connect to those narratives. Along with student researchers affiliated with Fashioning Circuits, we introduced “The Migrant Steps Project” and worked collaboratively through a series of activities designed to address the ethical, technical, and logistical aspects of the project. Our goal was to bring together those with interests in Latinx studies, border studies, media studies, wearable technology, interface design, data visceralization, and digital humanities tied to social issues.
Description and wrap-up reflection of the event forthcoming.
Platforms to the World
January 30 – February 1, 2020
During this three-day symposium, twenty scholars interested in the intersections of media, urbanism, and migration convened at the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication (ATEC) at the University of Texas at Dallas to address an essential contradiction in 21st century media: While emerging media technologies promise faster and more intimate connections with people around the world, how are media technologies themselves actively contribute to the reinforcement of social divisions and political borders?
Description and wrap-up reflection of the event available here.
The Global Media Festival
November 20, 2019
The Global Media Festival was a one-night screening of international shorts organized and presented by the students enrolled in my Global Media Cultures course during fall 2019. On the evening of November 20, 2019, we held the event at the main auditorium at the University of Texas at Dallas. In addition to the members of the class and their friends, members of the ATEC community also showed up. Each group had selected one person to introduce their short, and I gave a brief introduction at the beginning explaining the project and the work students had put into it.
Description and photos from the event available here.
La Revolución de los Alcatraces
April 21, 2016
In spring 2016 I programmed a screening of La Revolución de los Alcatraces (2013), an award-winning documentary by Mexican filmmaker Luciana Kaplan, at UC Santa Barbara’s Pollock Theater. The film tells the story of Eufrosina Cruz Mendoza, an indigenous woman who ran for mayor of her small community in southern Oaxaca, Mexico. During the Q&A, Kaplan and I discussed the limits of identity politics, the parallels between this story and the 2016 U.S. presidential hopefuls, and the role of artists and academics in interrogating these ideals.
Description and video from the Q&A available here.
juan llamas-rodriguez 