2010 Out Online (RECORDED) 

Description:
New information technologies are changing everything about our personal and work lives. From email and online discussion groups to online HR trainings and company twitter accounts, workplaces and employees are increasingly engaged in virtual work. In this course we will examine the unique contributions that virtual technologies like online discussion groups and Second Life can make to LGBT workplace equality endeavors as well as the challenges these new technologies pose for issues around sexual orientation and gender identity. By exploring both current research on whether and how new technologies can be a tool for personal and workplace climate change, and case studies of innovative technological application, we will develop a robust understanding of the possibilities, potential, and caveats offered by information technology.

Details:  75 minute webinar

This course will be relevant for managers, ERG leaders, and Human Resources personnel, and others interested in the interpersonal, psychological and social dynamics of community building and diversity training online and the possibilities and limitations of these technologies for corporate use.

Join us in this webinar to:

• Learn about new online tools and environments
• Examine research on how technology shapes personal and group change
• Understand the strengths and weaknesses of online workplace equality endeavors
• Gain tools for creating engaging and transformative online discussion groups, virtual spaces, and GLBT-supportive communities

Speaker:

Dr. Eve Shapiro is assistant professor of sociology at Westfield State College. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and has published in a number of journals including Gender & Society, Sexualities, and the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. Her recent book, Gender Circuits: Bodies and Identities in a Technological Age (Routledge 2010) examines whether and how new technologies are changing the gendered lives of cisgender and transgender individuals. Extending this Dr. Shapiro's current research examines the myriad ways information technologies can be agentically used to reshape individual and community lives and politics, particularly around gender and sexuality. In addition Dr. Shapiro is a frequent participant and facilitator for GLBT social justice and campus/workplace climate trainings at college and community events.