Ana Rita Morais, MA, PhD (ABD)

Ana Rita Morais is a Doctoral Candidate in the Communication and Culture Program at Ryerson University. As a mobile media scholar, she is marveled by the shift in the role of screens as a remediation of passive information surfaces, to those that seemingly read and react to environments. Reflected in her research, she believes that accessible technology has the capacity to cultivate new forms of knowledge, inaccessible via other methods. Her doctoral research-creation project develops an augmented reality app entitled me-dérive: [toronto]. The software enables a new mode of vision and an alternative world of experience, that acts as a nomadic, visual archive of Toronto urban space.

She has devoted much of her academic and professional career to investigating mobile media through various projects, some of which have made intersections into senior populations, developed models for use patterns, theorized the socio-technical capabilities of the cameraphone, and finally explored the ways in which augmented reality can be used to enhance historical, marginalized narratives. She is the Coordinator for the Media Foundation program at George Brown College, where she is also an Instructor in the Interaction Design and Development program. She holds a BA (Honours) in Communication and Professional Writing (York University), and an MA in Communication and Culture (York University).

Ana Rita's research interests and expertise are broad and often encompass thorough investigations of archival material, cartography, digital culture and space/place. She has taught a range of design, media and communication courses across various colleges and universities in Toronto, published and presented her research at several international conferences (including at both MIT and Oxford), and has conducted workshops and paneled discussions on various topics.