Playful Visions: Children’s Media Culture before Screen Time

March 12, 2021. 2:00 PM CT.

Dr. Meredith A. Bak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers University-Camden. She researches historical and contemporary children’s media, toys, and popular conceptions about technology and play. Bak led a workshop about nineteenth-century optical toys and illusions—kids’ media before screen time. She also conversed with SoHE Associate Professor Heather Kirkorian, Laura M. Secord Chair in Early Childhood Development, Faculty Director of the Child Development Lab, and Director of the Cognitive Development and Media Lab. The two discussed how early optical toys set the stage for the aspirations and anxieties we associate with children’s media today.

Read more about Professor Bak’s latest book and creating optical toys in this recent blog post by CDMC Visiting Executive Director Sarah Anne Carter.

© 2021 by the Center for Design and Material Culture and speakers.

The CDMC Conversation Series is made possible with the support of The Anonymous Fund.