RICSRE Seminar Series, D. Fox Harrell

This is an Archive of a Past Event

"Computational Narrative for Empowerment and Expression”

D. Fox Harrell's research explores the use of the computer for creative expression, cultural analysis, and social empowerment. In this talk, Harrell focuses on platforms for developing interactive multimedia narratives implemented in his research group, the MIT Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory. He will discuss specific works made using the platforms including interactive video where user input drives the generation of many versions of a story from diverse perspectives each time, computer games that can model phenomena such as racial discrimination, and interactive narrative animation where users' gestures drive how the story unfolds. These systems share the aim of using computational media to empower and challenge users to critically engage phenomena such as social categorization, marginalization, and privilege.

D. Fox Harrell, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Digital Media in the Comparative Media Studies Program and the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. He founded and directs the MIT Imagination, Computation, and Expression Laboratory (ICE Lab). Harrell holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego. In 2010, he received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for his project “Computing for Advanced Identity Representation.” His recent book, Phantasmal Media: An Approach to Imagination, Computation, and Expression, was published in 2013 by the MIT Press. He is a 2014-15 Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University.