Curtis McCord

In our modern lives, information systems are everywhere– they dictate how we organize our personal, economic and political lives. I study these kinds of software mediated interactions because they are a primary example of "reification"– the solidification of relationships that were previously fluid or informal. All information systems set the rules on how some thing will be accomplished, and so all information systems embody theories and values. Getting to the bottom of these can help us be more critical of the effects these systems have on our lives, and to design systems that value the things that we want– like sustainability and democracy.

I am currently a PhD student at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto. Apart from the intersection between government and information systems, I am interested in sustainability design and mesh networking.