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Talk Title: Designing Technology for BIPOC Joy and Flourishing
Research and design in human-computer interaction centers problem-solving, causing an unintended downstream effect of framing work centering marginalized communities predominantly from the lens of deficit and damage. In this talk I will present "designing for BIPOC flourishing" - a design framework that centers values such as joy, play, pleasure, rest, and cultural heritage for Black, Indigenous, and communities of color as well as a series of examples of flourishing in action across games and other social technologies. We will end by discussing opportunities for incorporating flourishing broadly in technology design.
Speaker: Alexandra To, PhD
Alexandra To is an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University jointly appointed in the Art + Design (Games) department in the College of Art, Media, and Design and the Khoury College of Computer Science. Her lab’s core research interests are in studying and designing games and social technologies to empower people in marginalized contexts. She uses qualitative methods to gather counterstories and participatory methods to design for the future. She has received multiple ACM Best Paper awards and published at CHI, UIST, CSCW, CHI Play, ToDiGRA, and DIS. Alexandra is a racial justice activist, a critical race scholar, and transformational game designer. She received her PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from Carnegie Mellon University as well as a B.S. and M.S. in Symbolic Systems with a minor in Asian American Studies from Stanford University. In her free time she both GM’s and plays TTRPGs.
Lunch will be served at this talk. Please register here by April 18, 2024 so that we can have an accurate count, and to accomodate any dietary issues. Alexandra To RSVP
