About

Richy Srirachanikorn is a PhD student in Social & Cultural Analysis at Concordia University. He studies how people utilize nostalgia for hope and resistance to social narratives of time.

Rowena Chodkowski is a writer, new media artist, and Humanities PhD student at Concordia University. She explores the social and cultural impact of internet aesthetics.

Derek Pasborg is pursuing their MA Sociology at Concordia University, researching how games, narrative, and affect interact. Derek is interviewing players of the game Project Zomboid.

Annie Harrisson is a PhD candidate in Communications at Concordia University. She studies the construction of the “gamer” via retrogaming, Let’s Plays, and promotional practices.

Shahrom Ali is an applied computer scientist especially interested in digital translations. He studied interaction design as part of his master’s degree in educational technology, developing the concept of digital-first artifacts: translations that enhance themselves with the affordances of digital media.

Maia Earl is an MA student in Media Studies and Communications at Concordia University. She has an interest in game design, and her studies focus on affective relationships with playing video games in comparison to other forms of media consumption.

Constantina Vossos is a third year undergraduate in Communications at Concordia. She enjoys community participation, event organization, and public outreach.

TJ is a PhD student in Concordia’s English Department. His primary research interests is “things”, be these ‘obsolete’ technology (typewriters, film cameras, and vinyl records), cutting edge XR projects, or anything in between. In his free time, catch him purchasing vintage music tech he doesn’t know how to use, fountain pens he’ll ink once before getting another, or taking something apart when he is not sure if it’ll get put back together (probably not).

Richy Srirachanikorn
(PhD Social and Cultural Analysis)

Rowena Chodkowski
(PhD Humanities)

Derek Pasborg
(MA Sociology)

Annie Harrisson
(PhD Communications)

Shahrom Ali
(MA Education Technology)

Miruna Popovici
(BA Psychology)

Miruna Popovici is a Bachelor’s student specializing in Psychology. She is drawn to nostalgia’s capacity for social bonding, creating a sense of shared history, community, and belonging. She is also interested in examining nostalgia from a scientific and psychological perspective.

Ryu Pinveha
(BComm Marketing)

Akarawin (Ryu) Pinveha is a Bachelor’s student majoring in Marketing at Concordia University. Ryu is interested in learning how promotional messages and campaigns can be constructed to activate people’s nostalgic instincts. As a member of Gen Z, his experiences from childhood enable him to connect and resonate deeply with the undergraduate student community.

Annie Harrisson is a PhD candidate in Communication Studies at Concordia University with a background in illustration and graphic design. Her work focuses on the historical construction of the gamer imaginary through retrogaming, Let’s Plays, and promotional practices.

Richy Srirachanikorn is a PhD student in Social and Cultural Analysis with a background in Social Psychology. He is intrigued by the generative potential of nostalgia in providing a sense of relief, belonging, and (symbolic) connections for individuals with social pain, such as those in extreme social withdrawal.

Derek Pasborg is a Concordia University Masters student studying Sociology. Their research interests lie in how individuals’ personal narratives shape the affective discourse of video games, and the implications of this for individual’s social lives in gaming communities.

Rowena Chodkowski is a PhD student in the Humanities (HUMA) program who studies subcultures and media; video games. Research creation is Rowena’s jam — just like jazz loon. Her nostalgic interests span from weirdcore to non-historical nostalgic AI generated images.

Shahrom Ali is computer scientist at heart, software developer by day, and a pragmatic (and nostalgic) philosopher by night. His Masters research in the Education Technology program at Concordia University looks at how games can trouble the way that post-secondary education classes are run and taught. More than just ‘gamifying’ learning, Shahrom dives into the question of “if and how” games can motivate a self-directed engagement with knowledge through games (heutagogy), rather than be implemented to make a passive style of learning artificially engaging simply because it is now “more fun” (pedagogy).

Richy Srirachanikorn
(MA Sociology)

Rowena Chodkowski
(PhD HUMA)

Derek Pasborg
(MA Sociology)

Leo Morales
(BA Computation Arts)

Annie Harrisson
(PhD Communication)

Poki Chan
(PhD INDI)