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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Hi everyone, and thank you Andy.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">For those who don’t know me yet, greetings. I’m excited to be stepping into this new role, in such interesting times, too.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">To give you a bit of background: I started my career working in New Zealand, and moved from a 10 year stint in Adelaide to Melbourne about 18 months ago. In my current role I am focused on research
and postgraduate supervision. I have a range of research interests. I have been working on the reception of microcomputers in the 1980s for some time, and have just completed a book,
<i>Homebrew Gaming and the Beginnings of Vernacular Digitality</i>, for MIT Press’ new Game Histories series. I am currently working on a large project on ‘Creative Micro-computing’ in Australia between 1976 and 1992, which will be my next book project. And
I’ve just (last night!) submitted an edited anthology called <i>Game History and the Local</i>, which collects
</span>essays on game history and historiography that reflect on the significance of locality<span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">. Previous collections are in the space where History of Technology meet Digital Media Histories/Media Studies/Game Studies/Fan
Studies/Collections space -- <i>Fans and Videogames: Histories, Fandom, Archives</i> (2017, Routledge) and
<i>The Pleasures of Computer Games: Essays on Cultural History, Theory and Aesthetics</i> (McFarland, 2008).
</span>Interdisciplinarity is in my blood, and quite probably multidisciplinarity as well. At present, I am leading a team which is undertaking two computer history and digital preservation projects funded by the Australian Research Council, one focused on
1990s Australian games and the other on media arts. These are partnerships with a range of cultural institutions, in which we are both undertaking historical research and preserving and emulating the artefacts, evaluating the Emulation as a Service platform
running in various configurations. <span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">I have been a member of SIGCIS for quite some years (I’m not sure exactly how many), and have attending several SHOT meetings (in Albuquerque, Singapore, and Milan) and the SIGCIS conference in 2017
at CHM. I also served on the Mahoney Prize Committee from 2017-19, which gave the chance to read and admire a wider cross-section of the amazing research that our community generates than I would normally be exposed to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">I am honoured to be joining the leadership of SIGCIS. I have long admired the SIG and SHOT as generous and collegial communities, and I am keen to support the inclusiveness and diversity of the groups.
Also, given that we are in the midst of a pandemic, and facing significant social, political and ecological challenges, it behoves us to consider how we might do some things differently than we have in the past, with a goal of enhancing participation. As someone
who comes from a part of the globe that is not often centred in academic exchange, I think I bring some useful experience and perspectives that can assist us as we learn some new ways to approach some of our activities.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">I’m really looking forward to working with you all and with Andy and the team we are building to take SIGCIS to the next stage!
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US">Melanie<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">--<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Melanie Swalwell<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prof of Digital Media Heritage<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Centre for Transformative Media Technologies<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Faculty of Health, Arts and Design<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Swinburne University<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">PO Box 218, Hawthorn Vic 3122 Australia<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tel +61 3 9214 3911<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">AS419<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">mswalwell@swin.edu.au<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">http://transformativemedia.swinburne.edu.au/<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> Members <members-bounces@lists.sigcis.org>
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Andrew Russell<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, 10 September 2020 10:59 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> members@lists.sigcis.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [SIGCIS-Members] Welcoming Melanie Swalwell, new SIGCIS Co-Chair<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif">Dear SIGCIS:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif">I’m writing to share some exciting news, which is that Melanie Swalwell has agreed to join me as SIGCIS Co-Chair, effective September 1, 2020. Melanie is </span><a href="https://www.swinburne.edu.au/research/our-research/access-our-research/find-a-researcher-or-supervisor/researcher-profile/?id=mswalwell" target="_blank"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif">Professor
of Digital Media Heritage</span></a><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif"> at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia. Many of you will have met Melanie at SIGCIS, or know her work in the histories of digital games and digital
preservation. You should expect to hear from Melanie about the reorganization of the SIGCIS Officers, and opportunities for volunteer positions to help SIGCIS continue to grow and change. And you’ll also hear from Laine Nooney about SIGCIS’s plans for virtual
meetings in these months when we can’t meet in person - and in anticipation of the rescheduled joint HSS-SHOT meeting in New Orleans in October 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif">Take care,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif">Andy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Lato-Regular",serif">Co-Chair, SIGCIS<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif;color:black">— — — — — — — — — — —<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif;color:black"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif;color:black">Andrew L. Russell, Ph.D.<br>
Dean, College of Arts & Sciences<br>
SUNY Polytechnic Institute<br>
Donovan Hall - 2123B<br>
100 Seymour Road<br>
Utica, NY 13502<br>
<br>
t. 315-792-7317<br>
w. </span><a href="https://sunypoly.edu/"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif">https://sunypoly.edu/</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif;color:black"><br>
e. </span><a href="mailto:arussell@arussell.org"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif">arussell@arussell.org</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Lato",serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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