Lunchtable Talk by Dr. Matthew Wells

The Department of English's Winter 2018 Lunchtable Talk will be delivered by Dr. Matt Wells, who will give a presentation on "Space Invaders: Kids Making Games Within Code/Space." The term 'computational thinking' has become common parlance with educational and political circles with respect to neoliberal conceptions of 'winning' the future and grooming children to become productive workers within this future. These aspirations connect unknowingly to the notion of 'code/space' (as outlined by scholars Rob Kitchin and Martin Dodge) in which code and physical space are see as co-creational and self-sustaining. Child focused game-building tools, when designed properly, allow for the colonization of digital spaces with the creative output of empowered users, which makes possible a much richer conceptualization of computational thinking and its benefits). Dr. Matthew Wells is a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Ryerson University. Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome. Please let us know if we need to make any accessibility accommodations to ensure your inclusion in this event.