Beginning on Monday 6th June, Manchester Metropolitan University’s Digital Society series is a five-day, free-to-all celebration of the groundbreaking research and expertise from the school’s faculty of Arts and Humanities and beyond. In a fascinating exploration of the impact of an increasingly digital society on our lives, each day of events is dedicated to its own aspect of modern civilisation under growing technological influence: politics, play, methods, art, and the environment.
The highlight of the already-intriguing ‘play’ day, the University of Toronto’s Dr. Sara Grimes takes a transdisciplinary approach to exploring the politics of online gaming and networking spaces for children, and their growth in complexity over decades of development which has transformed conventional sources of fun into an intricate nexus of power negotiations between children, parents, developers and politicians.
On a day dedicated to emerging digital methods of research and interaction, Salford University’s Ben Light introduces the ‘Covid Sex Lives Project’ as a backdrop for discussing pioneering ways of researching digital communities.
As one of the most visible growing technological markets of the last decade, there is a sharpening focus on the artistic possibilities of virtual and augmented reality systems. In order to demonstrate this in the most direct and compelling way, Dr. Ben Gwalchmai from MMU’s School of Digital Arts (SODA) takes guests into Manchester to demonstrate and engage with various aspects of augmented reality. Dr. Gwalchmai’s interactive event follows a morning of illuminating speeches and presentations from other SODA students and academics, all of which consider the different aspects and many controversies of NFTs, contextualised by shifting ideas and disputed definitions of ‘art’ in the digital society.
As irreversible climate change looms and exponential extinction gathers pace across the natural spectrum, Friday’s environmental focus features a keynote speech from the University of Sydney’s Dr. Benedetta Brevini which poses the defining question of our time, and speculates on whether technology can be our salvation.
Mon 6 Jun - Fri 10 Jun, Lecture Hall Three, Geoffrey Manton Building, 4 Rosamund Street West, M15 6LL
www.mmu.ac.uk
- Words:
- Wolf McFarlane
- Published on:
- Wed 1 Jun 2022
The series begins with a keynote speech from the University of Maryland’s Associate Professor of Information Studies, Dr. Daniel Greene. Specialising in the future of work, Greene’s speech questions which complex social issues, if any, can find a solution in imminent technological progress.