Platform Lab Talk: A Tumblr Book: Platforms and Cultures Roundtable

We invite you to attend the Platform Lab’s upcoming event a tumblr book: Platforms and Cultures Roundtable. The roundtable will be moderated by Film and Moving Image Studies PhD Jake Pitre and will feature book editors: Alison McCracker (DePaul), Alexander Cho (UC Santa Barbara), Louisa Stein (Middlebury) & Indira Neill Hoch (Concordia College).

Click here to register for the event

ABOUT A TUMBLR BOOK: PLATFORMS AND CULTURE ROUNDTABLE

a tumblr book takes an extensive look at the many different types of users and cultures that comprise the popular social media platform Tumblr. Though it does not receive nearly as much attention as other social media such as Twitter or Facebook, Tumblr and its users have been hugely influential in creating and shifting popular culture, especially progressive youth culture, with the New York Times referring to 2014 as the dawning of the “age of Tumblr activism.”Perfect for those unfamiliar with the platform as well as those who grew up on it, this volume contains essays and artwork that span many different topics: fandom; platform structure and design; race, gender and sexuality, including queer and trans identities; aesthetics; disability and mental health; and social media privacy and ethics. An entire generation of young people that is now beginning to influence mass culture and politics came of age on Tumblr, and this volume is an indispensable guide to the many ways this platform works.

Click here to access the book

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS

Alison McCracken, is an Associate Professor and Director of American Studies at DePaul University. She specializes in American cultural history and writes frequently about issues of gender and sexuality in popular culture and social media. For more information about Alison McCracken, please click here.

Alexander Cho, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara.  He researches digital media at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and human-centred design. Further information about his work can be found here.

Louisa Stein, is Associate Professor in the Film and Media Culture Department at Middlebury College. Her research focuses on fandom, audience authorship, and remix culture. For more information about Louisa Stein, please click here.

Indira Neill Hoch, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies and Theater Arts at Concordia College, Moorhead Minnesota. Research areas include online boundary maintenance and social construction of technology in new media contexts. More information about Indira Neill Hoch can be found here.