Grad Scholar in Residence, Environmental Media Lab, University of Calgary
Next Residency: March 2024
Application Due: 15 December 2023, 4pm MST
Theme: Extractive Media
The Environmental Media Lab supports emergent scholars. During the scholar’s month-long virtual residence, students will benefit from an intensive mentorship with Dr. Hogan and 2 other scholar-mentors, publish their work in Heliotrope, and give a public talk.
Theme: Extractive Media
Extraction means the action of removing something, usually using force; like the extraction of a tooth by a dentist. It can also refer to ancestry, to be of Dutch extraction. In chemistry, it might mean removing a compound from a mixture using a solvent. In terms of natural resources, we think of the consumption of natural resources without provision for their renewal. We might also think of applying pressure to obtain answers as a kind of extraction of information. When it comes to extractive media, we might think of an aesthetics of depletion, extractivist logics, or of generative AI. Extractive media can mean many things in various contexts and we offer this theme as a guide – it’s meant to be open to interpretation and inspiring.
What to Expect
This is a group residency. The two scholar-mentors providing you guidance this year are Théo Lepage-Richer and Susan Cahill. During the residency, you will also be in conversation with 3 grad student residents.
Under the mentorship of Mél Hogan, Théo Lepage-Richer and Susan Cahill, you will be supported in an intensive, online, month-long residency. You will be expected to:
- Meet 4 times over Zoom
- Provide feedback to your fellow residents
- Give a public talk (for both host and home institutions, recorded on Zoom and made public on YouTube)
- Publish a piece of writing in Heliotrope (with the help of Tessa J. Brown, editor)
For all of this, you will be supported by a team and able to network with a wider scholarly community. The stipend for this residency is $250 CAD. We realize this amount is honorary, but you will be heavily rewarded with the time, energy, ideas of your peers and mentors.
Dr. Mél Hogan
EML Director
Dr. Hogan coordinates the grad scholar in residence each year. She ensures the smooth running of the program! Contact: mhogan [at] ucalgary.ca
Dr. Théo Lepage-Richer
2024 Mentor
Théo Lepage-Richer is a SSHRC/FRQ-SC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto, where he works on resource extraction and digital infrastructures in Northern Canada. Before that, he completed a PhD in Modern Culture and Media at Brown University. There, he worked and published on artificial intelligence, government organization, and tech gouvernance. His upcoming book titled Neural Networks, co-authored with Ranjodh Dhaliwal and Lucy Suchman, will come out in January 2024 with the University of Minnesota Press.
Dr. Susan Cahill
2024 Mentor
Susan Cahill (she/her) is a white settler scholar who lives and works in Moh’kinsstis | Calgary on the traditional territories of the peoples of the Treaty 7 region. She is an independent filmmaker, curator, and Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Calgary.
Eligibility
This residency is designed to support Master’s or PhD students who are well into their research. This is because there isn’t time during the residency to conceptualize a new project; it works best if you come with a project for which you need some additional feedback and support. We encourage applications from Master’s students beyond their first year and PhD students beyond their second year.
- We welcome applications from students working in universities anywhere in the world.
- We encourage applications from first gen students, or anyone impacted by systemic oppression
How to Apply
Please submit your application to mhogan [at] ucalgary.ca. It should include the following:
- A brief explanation (one paragraph or so) of why you’re interested in this residency and how you heard of it.
- A brief outline (again, one paragraph or so) of the project you’d like to nurture in March.
- A sample of your work (this could be a paper, something you’ve published, a recorded presentation, a podcast, a research-creation project—anything that you’ve created that represents your thinking and values).
- Please include your prefered name, program, and contact information.
Deadline for Applications
Dec 15, 2023: 4pm MTN (Calgary Time)
Mél Hogan and Susan Cahill
Latest posts by Mél Hogan and Susan Cahill (see all)
- Grad Scholar in Residence 2024 – Environmental Media Lab, University of Calgary - September 29, 2023
- Diagnosis of a Planetary Condition - February 22, 2022