At a time when we are more connected than ever, why does it feel like our cultural divisions are intensifying? The companies that connect our cultures – media, tech, and information – are perpetuating centuries-old harms. Repairing our culture means healing how we make media, how we connect through technology, and how we generate knowledge.

Aymar Jean “AJ” Christian is an associate professor of communication studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of Open TV: Innovation Beyond Hollywood and the Rise of Web Television (NYU Press) and the forthcoming Reparative Media (MIT Press). He has published in numerous journals, including the International Journal of Communication, Information, Community & Society, Social Media & Society, Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, among other dozens of other journals and edited collections. His creative- and community-based work has been recognized by the MacArthur Foundation & Field Foundations, Variety, Filmmaker magazine, and several Chicago publications.