51社区黑料

Dr. Rowan Melling鈥檚 ground-breaking and theoretically-sophisticated thesis, , weaves historical analysis with media theory to critique the relationship between digital media and power in Silicon Valley technoculture.

Focusing on the romantic myths of individualism that are perpetuated within and about Silicon Valley, and bridging communication and media studies, the history of ideas, and analysis of technology and society, Melling鈥檚 work critically examines how cultural narratives from Romanticism have shaped our relationship with digital technologies since the 1960鈥檚.

Melling shows that the earliest visions of personal computing and the internet explicitly drew on romantic poetry and philosophy, and that the same tropes endure today: the promise that technology will enable self-actualization, re-enchant the world, or allow some form of transcendence. Melling鈥檚 research tells us that this romanticization of consumer technology presents digital media as an empowerment of the individual self, but ultimately serves the interests of capital and Silicon Valley. He shows the need for new narratives about technology than the romantic ones that we have kept returning to for the last half-century.

As a truly interdisciplinary researcher, Melling combines critical theory, historical analysis, disability studies, media analysis and artistic practice to explore embodiment, mediation and technology. For example, Melling reformulated his solo painting exhibition, Boss Bodies (2021), into a peer-reviewed article that used painting as a media research method.

Melling was supported by a Joseph鈥慉rmand Bombardier CGS Doctoral Scholarship (SSHRC), a DAAD Research Fellowship in Germany, a COGECO Graduate Fellowship in Communications, and a Canada Council for the Arts Artistic Creation Grant. He was also selected for the Stanford鈥慙euphana Summer Academy in Media Studies. He has articles published in venues such as Communication, Culture & Critique, the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies and Capacious, with additional work accepted at Critical AI and the Institute for Network Cultures.

Co-supervised academically by Sun鈥慼a Hong (51社区黑料/ UNC鈥慍hapel Hill) and Cait McKinney (SFU), they share in their admiration for Mellings鈥� work.

Says Hong, 鈥淩owan is a careful and serious thinker, and I have seen him craft every word of this dissertation with exceptional care and theoretical nuance, each time with a strong inner conviction around a clear central argument but eliciting intellectual exchange with affable humility. I believe Rowan will grow into a truly original thinker of media, technology and power 鈥� someone whose work could speak across public, artistic and academic domains.鈥�

This is also echoed by Cait McKinney. Says McKinney, 鈥淚 think the world of Rowan. He is already making a major contribution to media studies through his publications thus far. He has a gift for drawing together a wide range of theoretical and historical sources in his scholarship. He is a generous and collegial scholar who made a major contribution to the intellectual culture of our graduate program. His work will no doubt have significant impacts on how our field understands the tech industry and its models of embodiment and personhood.鈥�

Melling appreciates the openness and academic as well as personal guidance he received during his studies.

Says Melling, 鈥淚t was such a wonderful surprise to receive this medal! I am really grateful for having had such a great committee, who helped me to see what was valuable about my own research and to open my mind to new perspectives. My co-supervisors, Dr. Sun-ha Hong and Dr. Cait McKinney, were both so enthusiastic about my ideas and so real with me on a human level. They were not only invaluable intellectual interlocutors, but also such supportive guides through the tribulations of academic life. Both inspired me in different, yet complementary ways. I will miss working with them very much. 鈥�

Since defending his dissertation, Melling co-founded the artist collective Nocturnal Delicious, which had its first exhibition in February, 2026. This September, Melling will be joining Concordia University in the Department of Communication, supported by a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship to research the relationship between augmentation technologies, disability, and Silicon Valley鈥檚 long history of eugenics.