Curious Campus

Cosplay, Crowds, and Culture: The Comic-Con with Felan Parker

In this episode, Professor Felan Parker joins us in discussing his research project, “Swarming San Diego Comic-Con,” in which he and his research team conducted swarm ethnography at the 2023 Comic-Con. Through this discussion, we better understand the role the event plays in contemporary media pop culture, along with insights into the background to this research, the methodology employed and takeaways from the experience.
Felan Parker is an Associate Professor at St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto, and a scholar of media industries and cultures specializing in games, digital media, and film. A scholar in creative media and its associated industries, his current research interests focus on the role of intermediaries like curators, critics, and community organizers in the cultural ecosystem of the game industry.
 
Resources:
Comic-Con Comics #1: a comic book based on the Swarming Comic-Con research project. Read about how conventions shape media industries and fan cultures! 
Attend Professor Parker's and his collaborators' presentation on this research at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival Libraries and Education Day on Friday, June 6, 2025.
 

Joshua Pilzer on Music and Lived Experience

In this episode, Professor Joshua Pilzer joins us in discussing his award-winning book, “Quietude: A Musical Anthropology of "Korea's Hiroshima” - winner of the Alan Merriam Prize from the Society for Ethnomusicology. Through this discussion, we better understand the human impact of the nuclear bombing and the “musical” features of so-called extra-musical practices like speech and everyday movement. We also touch on Professor Pilzer’s journey into ethnomusicology and to Korea.
Joshua D. Pilzer is a Professor of Ethnomusicology in the Faculty of Music, and an affiliate faculty of the Centre for the Study of Korea. His research focuses on the anthropology of music in modern Korea and Japan, women's musical worlds, and the relationships between music, survival, memory, traumatic experience, marginalisation, disability, public culture, mass media, social practice and identity.

Global Ties, Local Ripples with Harald Bathelt

In this episode, Professor Harald Bathelt joins us in discussing his article, “The nature, causes, and consequences of inter-regional inequality” along with research in “Creating Knowledge over Distance: The Role of Temporary Proximity,” “Global subsidiary linkages and cluster networks in a turbulent world,” and “Communities in the internationalization process”. Through this discussion, we gain insights into the research pertaining to interregional inequality while touching on the impact of globalization and knowledge sharing in an increasing internationalized world.
Harald Bathelt is a Professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Geography & Planning and Zijiang Visiting Chair at East China Normal University. Bathelt’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of economic geography, political economy and methodology, specifically in the analysis of industrial clustering, knowledge generation/innovation over distance, regional impacts of national/international investments, and regional impacts of industrial/institutional change.

Decoding Climate Data: Steve Easterbrook on Modeling, Forecasting, and Solutions for a Changing World

In this episode, Professor Steve Easterbrook joins us in discussing his book, "Computing the Climate," where he shares what he learned during his time at renowned climate labs in Europe and the US, especially as a computer scientist trying to understand the software providing data and predictions on the climate. Through this discussion, we touch on the history of climate modelling, the difference between climate and weather forecasting, and solutions that exist to help communities navigate changing climate.Steve M. Easterbrook is Director of the School of the Environment at the University of Toronto, where he teaches courses on environmental decision-making, systems thinking, and climate literacy. He received a PhD in Computing from Imperial College London and served as lead scientist at NASA’s Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in West Virginia. Easterbrook has been a consultant for the European and Canadian Space Agencies, and a visiting scientist at many climate research labs in the United States and Europe.

Property Ownership, Authority and the Law with Larissa Katz

In this episode, Professor Larissa Katz joins us in discussing her paper, "Property: Authority Without Office?," where she dives into property law, specifically looking into the notion of authority that occurs within property ownership. Through this discussion, we gain insights into some of the nuances that live within the property law space, while touching on Professor Katz’ background and interest in property law. Larissa is the Professor of Law and Canada Research Chair in Private Law Theory. She is also the Associate Dean, Graduate Programs at the University of Toronto, and is cross-appointed to the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Prior to joining the Faculty of Law, Professor Katz clerked for the late Justice Charles D. Gonthier at the Supreme Court of Canada and worked in litigation at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP (NYC). Professor Katz writes about moral, political and social issues relating to private law generally and property law in particular.

Health Policy and Politics: Understanding Universal Healthcare with Joseph Wong

In this episode, Professor Joseph Wong joins us in discussing his article, "The Politics of Universal Health Coverage," where he explores the influence of government systems on healthcare. We delve into Professor Wong's research on health policy, focusing on its effects on the majority of the population and then considering the challenges of providing healthcare to harder-to-reach groups.
Joseph is a Professor in the Department of Political Science, and the Vice President, International, for the University of Toronto. His research interests are in comparative public policy and political economy. The founder and PI for the Reach Alliance, Professor Wong is currently working on several projects relating to poverty, innovation and development.

Understanding Heritage Language Education and Jamaican Creole in Toronto with Shawna-Kaye Tucker

In this episode, Professor Shawna-Kaye Tucker joins us in discussing her paper “Beyond “Sea, Sun, and Fun”: Exploring the Viability of Jamaican Creole Heritage Language Education in Toronto,” talking about the experiences in including Jamaican creole in heritage language education. She highlights the difficulties in counting JamC as a heritage language and interviews conducted with Jamaican natives about their views of including JamC in formal heritage language education. Shawna is an Assistant Professor within the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, at the University of Toronto. As a Caribbean native, she has a keen interest in language and literacy development of children in creole-speaking contexts as well as in the role of home and community literacy practices in learner outcomes.

The Anthropocene Meal: Connecting City Dwellers to Nature with Soren Brothers

In this episode, Dr. Soren Brothers joins us in discussing his article, "A meal to ameliorate the Anthropocene,” highlighting his work on the Anthropocene and his connection to Crawford Lake. We talk about his idea of an “Anthropocene meal,” and engaging city dwellers with the environment around them. Soren is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto and the Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Soren’s research examines the effects of climate change on lakes, and how changes in aquatic systems can influence their greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

Code, Chords & Clues: Steve Engels on AI-Powered Music and Forensic Games

In this episode, Professor Steve Engels joins us in discussing his research in artificial creativity in automated music generation and designing video games for forensic science education. Through this discussion, we learn about his motivations for this line of research and the use of video games to aid education.
 
Steve Engels is a Professor, Teaching Stream in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, where he has been teaching courses in computer hardware, artificial intelligence and video game design. Steve's research interests lie in game design & programming, educational game design, artificial creativity (e.g. automatic music generation), open data and artificial intelligence applications.

Harboring History: Discussing the Preservation of Heritage Sites with Aziza Chaouni

In this episode, Professor Aziza Chaouni joins us in discussing her book, "Modern Heritage Under Pressure: Perspectives from the Global South,” elaborating on her work on preserving heritage sites; notably, that of the Sidi Harazem Thermal Bath Complex in Fez, Morocco, while also touching on local sites in Toronto, Canada. Through this discussion, Aziza emphasizes the importance of preserving these historical locations as vital connections to our collective memories.
Aziza is an Associate Professor at the Daniels School of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto, where she leads the Designing Ecological Tourism Lab. She is also the principal of Aziza Chaouni Projects, with offices in both Fez and Toronto. Her work has earned several prestigious awards, including the Holcim Gold Award for Sustainable Construction in 2009. Notably, she is responsible for the Sidi Harazem Thermal Bath Complex CMP, a key project discussed in her book.