February 12 - Book Talk: Move Slowly and Build Bridges
19 January 2026
Join us on Thursday, February 12 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. in 2-20 B (Multipurpose Room) in the Digital Scholarship Centre for a book talk with Robert W. Gehl, author of Move Slowly and Build Bridges.
The book examines Mastodon, the fediverse, and broader efforts to build decentralized alternatives to corporate social media. Drawing on interviews, participant observation, and critical political economy, Gehl traces how activists, developers, and users are experimenting with open protocols and community-governed platforms—and the tensions that arise as these systems scale.
The talk will explore what federated social media can (and cannot) offer in terms of democratic communication, governance, labour, and sustainability, and what these experiments reveal about the future of digital platforms beyond Big Tech.
This event will be of interest to scholars and students in media studies, STS, digital humanities, computing, and anyone concerned with the politics and infrastructures of online communication. All are welcome.
Robert W. Gehl is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University and Ontario Research Chair in Digital Governance for Social Justice. He is a Fulbright scholar and award-winning author whose research focuses on contemporary communication technologies.