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Toronto Public Library - Lillian H. Smith Branch, 239 College Street, Toronto, ON
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Full Schedule
6:30 PM - Tours of the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy
7:45 PM - Reception
8:30 PM - Panel Discussion
Join Benjamin Woo, author of Getting a Life: The Social Worlds of Geek Culture, as he moderates a panel discussion on building scenes and communites around media. This free event is taking place during the 2018 Conference of the Society for Cinema & Media Studies in Toronto.
A city's cultural life depends on an infrastructure of spaces, resources, and people. This is perhaps self-evident in the case of classic nightlife amenities like bars and restaurants, cinemas, performance venues, galleries, and other cultural spaces, but it is no less true of the interlocking communities of media fans sometimes called geek culture.
Despite a reputation for introversion and insularity, so-called geeks and nerds nonetheless rely on networks of specialty retailers, events, and organizations for their continuing availability of their creative, connoisseurist engagement with popular media. This special event takes Toronto’s vibrant geek culture scene as a case study. The Greater Toronto Area is home to conventions, festivals and retailers, and educational and arts organizations with international profiles, as well as lively communities of cultural producers and media fans.
Benjamin Woo, Assistant Professor of Communication and Media Studies at Carleton University and author of Getting a Life will offer brief introductory remarks and moderate a panel discussion and Q&A with intermediaries and creatives working in and around these communities in Toronto.