As we continue to social-distance and work from home, we're sharing some new reading and hopefully a little hope and optimism.
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We’re delighted to spread the word about an exciting new book from CMSI Faculty Fellow Benjamin Stokes: “Locally Played: Real-World Games for Stronger Places and Communities,” published in April 2020 by MIT Press. Games are powerful tools for creating social connection and sparking civic imagination and play. Through this book, Stokes, an Assistant Professor at the Games Lab at American University’s School of Communication, explores the power of games to increase citizen participation, engagement, and economic activity.
According to Tracy Fullerton, Director of USC Game Innovation Lab, who wrote the foreword, “This book is an important text not only in the emerging canon of game studies but also in the areas of policy and community organizing.” Stokes draws from his research and professional experience, including his role as co-founder of Games for Change, managing the Digital Media and Learning portfolio at the MacArthur Foundation, and his scholarship in communication technology. He is currently working with the Smithsonian and the D.C. Public Library on an interactive storytelling system tied to local history. Read more about Stokes and his book.
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Hip Hop Caucus and CMSI Collaborate on Comedy for the Climate Crisis
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On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day on April 22, 2020, Hip Hop Caucus shared the first look of Ain’t Your Mama’s Heat Wave, the first feature-length production from its Think 100% Films, a collaboration with our CMSI Comedy ThinkTanks initiative and The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund.
The film tells a gripping story of communities in the city of Norfolk and the seven cities of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia that are grappling with the climate crisis and the present-day consequences of historic injustices and inequality, told through the journey of four stand-up comedians. This project is also a community organizing and impact project that brings together HBCU students, local government, faith leaders, and many other stakeholders. Stay tuned for more -- the feature film will be released in 2021.
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Creating Comedy in the COVID-19 Shutdown
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Along with our partners at Caring Across Generations and National Domestic Workers Alliance, two leading organizations at the frontlines of advocating for marginalized caregivers, we are leveraging humor to spread awareness about the importance of caregiving and care workers in every season, not just during a crisis. Incubated by a special Zoom-room Comedy ThinkTank hosted by CMSI, the two organizations will distribute new short-form comedy videos and memes as part of their #CareForAll campaign. The first one calls attention to the hilarious balancing act for parents:
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In July 2019, CMSI was proud to collaborate with the new Climate Storytelling Lab hosted by Doc Society and Exposure Labs, leaders at the intersection of documentary storytelling and social change. Doc Society and Exposure Labs just launched their global toolkit for climate storytelling, which includes CMSI’s engagement with the effort.
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Picasso, Africa and Fair Use:
How Art History Expands Its Vision
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In this new feature on the CMSI blog, as part of her ongoing initiatives to inspire artists and creative communities to leverage fair use in their work, Patricia Aufderheide interviews Suzanne Preston Blier, an award-winning art historian at Harvard University, about the ways in which Blier’s book about artist Pablo Picasso was enabled by fair use.
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Look for us next month with more updates and resources.
Take care and be safe,
Team CMSI
Caty, Varsha, Bethany, and David
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