Kim Sawchuk (born 1960) is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies, Research Chair in Mobile Media Studies, and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies (Faculty of Arts and Science) at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. A

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

media studies scholar, Sawchuk's research spans the fields of art,

gender Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...

, and culture, examining the intersection of technology into peoples lives and how that changes as one ages.

Early life and career

Kimberly Anne Sawchuk was born in 1960 in Canada. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1982 from the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

, with gold medal honors for a dual-major in Political Science and History. She completed both a Master's in 1986 and her PhD in Social and Political Thought in 1991 from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in Toronto. Sawchuk joined the Department of Communication Studies at

in 1990 and by 2011 was an associate professor. On 1 January 2015, she began serving as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Arts and Science at Concordia. She has been writing articles on the cultural impact of

aging Ageing (or aging in American English) is the process of becoming Old age, older until death. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi; whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentiall ...

and technology since 1992, and examines cultural attitudes towards aging. Sawchuk has noted that if elderly people are portrayed in advertising at all, they are portrayed primarily as

caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...

s of their youth. Not who they are, but who they once were. However, she believes that as marketers and advertisers educate themselves about seniors, targeting older markets can be lucrative. She's also involved in changing the popular image of the elderly and works in collaboration with community organizations and

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

to address their experience of digital technologies. Sawchuk has participated in a wide number of research projects. In 2010, she was involved in a project on mobile communications and biomedical imaging. In 2011, Sawchuk and Barbara Crow conducted a research project sponsored by the

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC; , CRSH), often colloquially pronounced 'shirk' (), is a Canadian federal research-funding agency that promotes and supports post-secondary research and training in the humani ...

of Canada on whether services, which are frequently geared to on-line access, are accessible to marginalized or older citizens. Often exploring feminist issues, Sawchuk's interests are not limited to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. In 2012, she developed a

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

application with film producer Katarina Soukup, which allows users to uncover geographical and historical landmarks using the GPS systems on the phone, becoming virtual underground explorers. Sawchuk began participation in 2014 in a two-year trans-cultural project between Canada and the European Union called "Performigrations: people are the territory". The project is designed to study cultural change and diversity, modern mobility, and the spread of ideas. In 2014, Sawchuk received a grant of approximately $3 million to research, over a seven-year period, the topic Ageing, ''Communication, Technologies (ACT): Experiencing a Digital World In Later Life''. The project brings together collaborators from 12 international universities to study the use of technology by aging people and how that changes their world and views of the world. In addition to research, Sawchuk has lectured internationally and participated in seminars at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

Istanbul Bilgi University Istanbul Bilgi University () is a private university founded in 1996, located in Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, Turkey. The university has four campuses in Istanbul: SantralIstanbul, Kuştepe, Dolapdere, and Kozyatağı. History The university was ...

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

, the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and

University of Silesia The University of Silesia in Katowice () is an autonomous state-run university in Katowice, Silesia Province, Poland. The university offers higher education and research facilities. It offers undergraduate, masters, and PhD degree programs, ...

, Poland. Sawchuk co-founded the Mobile Media Lab (York-Concordia) in 2006. She is also the organizer of the Critical Disability Studies Working Group at Concordia and works in collaboration with artists and scholars to document and critically examine ableism in cities such as

, Quebec. As part of her work on disabilities, Sawchuk is developing an archive with Arseli Dokumaci funded by the Canadian Consortium on Performance and Politics in the Americas (CCPPA) on performance and disability throughout the Americas. In addition to her academic research, she co-founded of Ada X (formerly StudioXX), a digital media center in Montreal where feminist academics, artists, and community activists gather in 1996.

Work as editor

She completed a six-year term as the editor of the ''Canadian Journal of Communications'' (www.cjc-online.ca) in 2011 and she is the co-editor of ''Wi: Journal of Mobile Media''. She has also co-edited numerous books and special issues of journals.

Selected works

* Eds. Bill Burns, Cathy Busby and Kim Sawchuk. ''When Pain Strikes'' Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1999. * Eds. Janine Marchessault and Kim Sawchuk. ''Wild Science: reading feminism medicine and the media'' United Kingdom: Routledge: 2000. * Eds. Christina Lammer, Catherine Pilcher, Kim Sawchuk. ''Verkörperungen/Embodiment'' Vienna: Löcker Verlag, 2007. * Eds. Gisele Amantea, Lorraine Oades and Kim Sawchuk. ''USED/goods'' Montreal: Conseil des Arts, 2009. * Eds. Barbara Crow, Michael Longford, Kim Sawchuk. ''Sampling the Wireless Spectrum: the politics, poetics and practices of mobile media'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2010. * Sawchuk, K., & Crow, B. "Into the grey zone: Seniors, cell phones and milieus that matter" In B. Poppinga (ed.), ''Observing the mobile user experience: Proceedings of the 1st international workshop held in conjunction with NordiCHI'' (2010). (pp. 17–20). * Sawchuk, K., & Crow, B. "I'm G-Mom on the Phone" ''Feminist Media Studies'', 12(4), (2012) pp 496–505. * Middleton, C., Shepherd, T., Shade, L.R., Sawchuk, K., & Crow, B. Intervention Regarding the Consultation on Proceeding to establish a mandatory code for mobile wireless services: Telecom Notice of Consultation" ''CRTC 2012-557'', 11 October 2012 and ''CRTC 2012-557-1'', 1 November 2012.

Special issues of journals

* Mobile Cultures, Special Issue of ''Wi: Journal of Mobile Media'', with L. Grenier and G. Cucinelli, 2012. www.wi.mobilities.ca * Conversations Across the Field, inaugural issue of ''ADA: Journal of Gender and Technology'', with C. Stabile, eds. Vol 1.no. 1. 2012 * Media Arts Revisited, Special Issue of ''Canadian Journal of Communication'', 37.1 with A. Zeffiro, 2012. * Wireless Technologies, Mobile Practices, Special Issue of ''Canadian Journal of Communication'' 33.3, with B. Crow and R. Smith, 2008. * Pedestrian Traffic, Special Issue of ''Wi: Journal of Mobile Media'', Spring, with A. Zeffiro, B. Crow, and M. Longford, 2008. * Mediated Spaces, Special Issue of ''Canadian Journal of Communication'' 33.2, 2008. * Communicating Health, Special Issue of ''Canadian Journal of Communication'' 32.3/4, 2007. * Vocabularies of Citizenship, Special Issue of ''Canadian Journal of Communication'' 32.2, 2007.

References

External links