Eric Gordon

Eric Gordon is a visiting professor in Comparative Media Studies / Writing at MIT and a professor of Media Art at Emerson College, where he directs the Engagement Lab. His research focuses on the transformation of public life and governance in digital culture, and the incorporation of play into collaborative design processes. He is the author of two books about media and cities (The Urban Spectator (2010) and Net Locality (2011)) and is the editor of Civic Media: Technology, Design, Practice (MIT Press, 2016) and the forthcoming Ludics: Play as Humanistic Inquiry (Palgrave, 2020). His most recent monograph (with Gabriel Mugar), Meaningful Inefficiencies: Civic Design in an Age of Digital Expediency (Oxford University Press, 2020) examines practices in government, journalism and NGOs that reimagine urban innovation beyond efficiency.

Gabriel Mugar

Gabriel Mugar is a Qualitative Researcher at Facebook where he explores the interactions between public figures and their audience. Prior to Facebook he was a Design Research Lead at IDEO where he specialized in working with communities and organizations to design opportunities for learning and collaboration. At IDEO, he explored challenges around learning and collaboration across a range of settings, including State and Federal government, consumer technology, retail, and professional services.

Gabriel holds a Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology from the Syracuse University School of Information Studies.