Cacophonie | Just Listening: Experiments with Collective Memory with Dr. Jordan Zalis

This interactive workshop by Dr. Jordan Zalis invites you into the practice of just listening—an approach to storytelling and ethnographic engagement that centres care, attention, and the improvised encounters we create together. Through personal narratives about sports, games, and gaming, we’ll examine how play shapes our memories, identities, and communities.

The workshop unfolds in three movements: 1) a brief introduction to just listening as a practice with some simple listening exercises, 2) sharing stories about moments of play that stick with us, listening attentively to each other’s experiences, and then 3) playing together! We’re interested in the sensorial, the feelingful, and, of course, the relationships that emerge when we play, compete, watch, game, or recall—from our experiences playing pickup basketball to board game nights, from video game marathons to the World Cup.

Who should come? Everyone is welcome. We especially invite folks with strong connections to sports (basketball, hockey, soccer, etc.), games (chess, trivia, board games), or gaming (video games, e-sports, gambling). We aim to make these events as accessible as possible, and they are open to everyone regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, religion, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, political beliefs, or status. Folks with children are also welcome to bring them along and their participation will not be part of the study.

On workshop day, we all play!

Come ready to share a story, listen generously, and learn from each other.

To confirm participation and/or for more information, including about consent forms, please email Cacophonie’s curator, Dr. Sharon D. Engbrecht, at [email protected].

If you decide to join us spontaneously, please do. Doors will be open 30 minutes before the event!