It was my great privilege to have visited the Department of Media and Communication at Erasmus University for a 90-day period. I am an MA student from Toronto, Canada in the unique interdisciplinary program of Communication and Culture—a joint degree offered by York University and Ryerson University.
During the final semester of my two-year research master’s program I was given the opportunity to travel abroad while writing my thesis. Thanks to the support of a Mitacs Globalink Research Award, I was connected to Dr. Jason Pridmore and Dr. Daniel Trottier through my supervisor, Dr. Greg Elmer from Ryerson University. During my visit, the mentorship provided by these stellar researchers as well as the collegial support of the PhD candidates in the Department of Media and Communication, helped foster an incredibly nurturing and stimulating environment for writing and research. In particular, the researchers engaged in topics of surveillance and privacy were a direct match for my interests in new media and the social normalization of potentially privacy-invasive technologies.
My research looks at the emergence of novel consumer surveillance processes being deployed in the domestic sphere, a traditionally privileged zone of privacy protected from the unwanted eyes and ears of others. Drawing from a case study of the Amazon Echo smart speaker with the voice-activated personal assistant, Alexa, I examine how eavesdropping and datamining processes are being domesticated in home environments. I had the great opportunity of presenting my research in part of the lunch seminar series hosted by the Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture. Thanks to all the faculty for your attention, feedback and excellent discussion. My overall experience in Rotterdam at Erasmus University has expanded my academic horizons and has positively shaped the course of my future research, continuing with my PhD studies beginning in Fall 2019. I look forward to following the ongoing research undertaken by Erasmus scholars and crossing paths with you all further down the road.
Author
Stephen Neville visited Erasmus University as the recipient of a Mitacs Globalink Research Award funded by the Government of Canada. He has recently completed thesis research for his master’s degree in the joint program of Communication and Culture at York University and Ryerson University, Toronto. He will continue his current line of research about new media, surveillance and privacy as a PhD candidate at York University starting in Fall 2019.