Sabine LeBel

Dr. Sabine LeBel does research in the area of environmental media studies. She investigates the representation of trash in visual culture, affective responses to planned obsolescence, and media materiality. She also works in the area of mobile media art, especially cellphilms as queer and feminist art practice.

Alongside her academic work, Dr. LeBel has an art practice, primarily in video, as both a curator and a filmmaker. Her pieces typically deal with queer themes and environmental issues, often through scifi aesthetics and experimental narratives.

Education

• PhD Communication and Culture, York University
• MA Film and Video, York University
• BA Women’s Studies and Cultural Studies, Trent University

Teaching award

• 2018 Nominated for Faculty of Arts Teaching Award, UNB

Selected articles

“Fast Machines, Slow Violence: ICTs, Planned Obsolescence, and E-waste.” Time and Globalization: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue, edited by Paul Huebener, Susie O'Brien, Tony Porter, Liam Stockdale, Yanqiu Rachel Zhou. Routledge, 2017.

“Picking Through the Metaphorical Trash: An Exploration of the Trashcan Icon.” Wi: Journal of Mobile Media (spec. issue “Mobile Trash”). 10.1, 2016. 

“Notes on Cool: The Temporal Politics of Friendly Monsters and the E-waste Aesthetic.” NANO: New American Notes Online. Issue 7, 2015. 

“Wasting the Future: The Technological Sublime, Communications Technologies, and E-waste.” Communications + 1 (spec. issue “Futures of Communication”). 1.1: 1-19. 2012.

“Tone down the Boobs Please: Reading the Special Effect Body in Superhero Movies.” Cineaction 77: 56-67. 2009.

“Camping Out With the Lesbian National Parks and Services.” Canadian Woman Studies/ les cahiers de la femme 24. 2/3: 182-185. 2005.

Classes taught

• CCS/MAAC 1021 Introduction to Culture, Arts, and Media
• MAAC/FILM 2022 The Art of Film