We’re delighted to have two speaker’s for this year’s OII Pride lecture!
Please join us at Wadham College or via Zoom for talks by Dr Madeleine Steeds and Dr Rebecca Swift.
Schedule
1:00-2:00pm Keynote Speech: “Queer Joy as a Digital Good: Centring Joy in Research” by Dr Madeleine Steeds
2:00-2:30pm Tea/coffee break
2:30-3:30pm “Visual depictions of genders – Is advertising imagery getting any better?” by Dr Rebecca Swift
3:30-4:30pm Drinks reception and nibbles
Queer Joy as a Digital Good: Centring Joy in Research
The expression of joy, particularly for queer and otherwise marginalised groups, can serve as an act of resistance in an increasingly divisive political landscape. Our project “Queer Joy as a Digital Good” foregrounds joy as a practice of personal and collective resistance, and we seek to understand how this is platformed and facilitated in online platforms. This talk will discuss our findings on how queer joy is expressed in online spaces, and the barriers to that expression. We’ll also discuss experiences of conducting joyful research in the current political landscape.
Dr Madeleine Steeds is an assistant professor in the school of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin. Their research explores how identities expressed online. They are also interested in how identity is assigned to technology, and how associations made with these identities may bias cognitive processes.
Visual depictions of genders – Is advertising imagery getting any better?
Dr Swift will present the global research that we are conducting at Getty Images into how gender is represented using data analysis and content analysis. The talk will cover the historical view (where representation has evolved from) to the present day (where we are now) and will share the results of our multi-year research into depictions of masculinity, recent research into depictions of the LGBTQ+ community and how the research is being adopted in commercial practice.
Dr Rebecca Swift is a world-leading creative expert who has pioneered visual insights. As Senior Vice President, Creative, at Getty Images, Rebecca directs the company’s creative insights and creation of imagery and video used in award-winning advertising, design and editorial around the world. Working closely with creators, art directors and creative researchers globally, Rebecca plays a critical role in ensuring that Getty Images is continually providing fresh, relevant creative content and insights, which in turn engages and inspires creatives and marketers around the world. Her foresight into cultural and societal trends that shape visual communications drives Getty Images’ creative offering.
Rebecca joined the photography industry over 20 years ago and was one of the founding members of the creative research team at Getty Images, introducing visual research methodology to the industry. One area of visual communication Rebecca is particularly passionate about is evolving visual representation. Rebecca is personally responsible for driving change in visual language depicting women and girls, which she has done by rewriting the visual standards of commercial imagery depicting this group and briefing Getty Images’ contributing photographers against these new visual standards. Most recently she has turned her attention to addressing authentic and diverse representations of people with disabilities and moving the visual language about aging forward.
In 2020, Rebecca was recognized as one of AdAge’s “20 Women to Watch” and is Campaign magazine’s Female Frontier honouree. She was awarded the “Most Influential Leader in UK Visual Media” in 2020 at the Corporate Excellence Awards.
Rebecca has a PhD in Photography. Her research expertise is in commercial creativity and the evolution of visual trends in advertising.
