Curry Chandler is a writer, researcher, and independent scholar working in the field of communication and media studies. His writing on media theory and policy has been published in the popular press as well as academic journals. Curry approaches the study of communication from a distinctly critical perspective, and with a commitment to addressing inequality in power relations. The scope of his research activity includes media ecology, political economy, and the critique of ideology.
Curry is a graduate student in the Communication Department at the University of Pittsburgh, having previously earned degrees from Pepperdine University and the University of Central Florida.
To cap off 2022 here’s a montage of cycling videos I shot this year, mostly from this past Fall. The footage includes rides from Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, New York, and Toronto. Special thanks to Ben McSpadden who wrote and recorded original music for the montage!
While in Toronto this past October I tried out the city’s bike share system. Even though I’d used the city’s public transit during previous visits to Toronto, on this trip it took me a while to acclimate in terms of which stations I was able to purchase a metro pass for the subway or streetcar with my debit card (NYC’s new Omny “tap and go” system is much easier and more convenient, so take that Canadian infrastructure snobs!).
Overall I found the cycling infrastructure in Toronto to be quite robust, with the city center and major thoroughfares populated with ample dedicated bike lanes (if that’s your jam…I know bike lanes have their drawbacks and aren’t a panacea, but they’re still where I feel most comfortable riding, particularly among traffic in a strange city).
An iconic Toronto bike post, with the “City Cycling Committee” imprint.
I’m not sure what these bike jump markings are for; practicing bunny hops?
The bike share stations were plentiful. Bike Share Toronto uses the same PBSC app as Pittsburgh and many other cities. I did have connectivity issues with my U.S.-based data plan for some reason.
I went riding on a few of the main commercial drags, and due to my transit difficulties used the bike system as a “last mile” option on a couple of occasions. On Queen Street West I came across a local outlet for Giant, the manufacturer of both of my current bikes.
I did a couple of night rides when I couldn’t figure out bus schedules from my phone.
But the most sustained cycling I did was along the Waterfront, on the Martin Goodman Trail. It was gorgeous Fall weather, perfect for a leisurely ride. Here’s some video I shot of the trail ride; it intercuts between my ride out and the return.
Five years ago I wrote a paper about an ongoing revival of interest in Marshall McLuhan and a recovery of his media theory following decades of mainstream academic misunderstanding and dismissal of his work. The paper was well-received and eventually published in the Media Ecology Association journal. In the time since I went on to PhD school and my research trajectory developed first through political economy and then urban studies, which is where my current work is rooted. When I saw that an ad hoc conference dedicated to the Toronto School's legacy and future was being convened at the University of Toronto I was intrigued and submitted a proposal. I attended the conference this past weekend and the event does seem destined to be seen as a landmark event in the history of the Toronto School of Communication and its contribution to media studies and other fields. More than twenty nationalities were represented by the participants, and the presentations were all high quality and generative. Children of Marshall McLuhan and Harold Innis were also in attendance (Michael McLuhan bears a somewhat uncanny resemblance to his father), as were colleagues and contemporaries of the Toronto School theorists, and some of the foremost scholars and historians of the tradition. During the opening ceremony conference organizer Paolo Granata posed the question, "Where is the Toronto School?" His answer was that it was in the room, embodied in the people and research represented in the conference. At the end of the weekend this certainly seemed to be the case.
My only major grievance with the conference was my inability to obtain one of the "cool medium" shirts made for the volunteers (the blue shirts visible front and center in the above photo). When I arrived at the registration tables on the first morning I was stunned to see all the staffers wearing shirts that read "I'm a cool medium." Since I have a certain attachment to that particular phrase I was fixated on getting one of those shirts, but alas it was not to be. I was part of a panel organized around the theme of "city as medium," and the presentations all offered insightful applications of McLuhan's media theories to urban design and development. I was aware of various McLuhan and Jane Jacobs connections around the Toronto nexus, but I was surprised during the opening remarks to hear several speakers include Jacobs as one of the members of the Toronto School. I was left considering the implications of this inclusion, and plan to develop these thoughts at the Jacobs centenary panel at NCA next month. The other takeaway from the conference (aside from the helpful insights and ideas, and unfortunately not a shirt) were the connections made with other attendees. I saw some familiar faces that I had met at past events, and made new connections including Toronto community organizers and activists. I hope to develop some research opportunities from these relationships, as I think Toronto is a wonderful city and it would great to include some of the developments there as a case study in my current research. It certainly occupies a unique position in the contemporary discussions of city policy and urban life.
