April 2026 was definitely one for the books. For the past year, I have been delving into the world of postdigital scholarship, thanks in large part to the wonderful Dr. Juliana Raffaghelli, who introduced me to it through her fantastic paper on postdigital positionality. Then, I had the chance to meet Dr. Sarah Hayes, the person who quite literally wrote the book on the subject.
Spending time with Dr. Hayes has been one of the most academically rewarding experiences I have had. While I knew she was a brilliant writer and deep thinker, I had no idea how much I would be able to relate to her. For example, she is also an artist and spent a good amount of time working with textiles while living in Glasgow. She is also incredibly down to earth, someone with whom you can share a beer and talk about almost anything, from getting deep into Heidegger’s philosophy and why his concept of enframing might help explain our current relationship with reality, to talking about the Talking Heads, movies, or whatever mundane thing happens to be in the news. Yes, Dr. Hayes is an extremely chill scholar, but she is also one of the most insightful and prolific writers in the world of postdigital scholarship.
Below is the video flyer we used for our screening event at Texas State University. Making this event happen required a pretty amazing coalition of people, including Dr. Di Mauro Jackson and the Department of World Languages & Literatures, Dean John Fleming from the College of Fine Arts and Communication, Oleksandra Sehin and the Education Abroad Office, the folks from the TXST UFCU branch, and the Graduate Student Organization of Adult, Professional, and Community Education. I also had the chance to work again with the great Cheri Hatcher, who assisted with both this event and the workshop we held the following day at the San Marcos Public Library, courtesy of Deborah Carter, San Marcos’ rockstar librarian and adult education scholar. The two events were extremely meaningful and unforgettable. We even had the chance to Zoom in Dr. Raffaghelli live from Italy during the screening, where she officially launched the ETH-TECH Art Contest, which you can learn more about here.
Before our events in Texas, I also had the chance to attend the AERA conference alongside Dr. Hayes, Dr. Sara Tolbert, and, the one and only, Dr. Petar Jandrić. Naturally, I brought my camera with me, and I was able to capture some excellent interviews and moments that will become part of our next module, focused on “the Postdigital.”
This will probably be the last module for EIB, as my doctoral experience is coming to an end. That said, I will try to close it out with a bang. I am also very proud to say that Dr. Hayes is now an official member of my dissertation committee, so I am looking forward to a very enriching Fall 2026 semester and year ahead.
More soon.
PEOPLE FEATURED IN THIS STORY
Dr. Sarah Hayes
Dr. Sarah Hayes is a prolific author and Professor of Education and Research Lead in the School of Education at Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom. With a PhD in Sociology, her interdisciplinary research spans education, sociology, technology, linguistics, policy, and postdigital cultures, with particular interests in digital inclusion, data-driven systems and disadvantage, critical pedagogy, and positionality. She previously served as Professor of Higher Education Policy at the University of Wolverhampton and has also held academic roles at Aston University and the University of Worcester. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Associate Editor of the journal Postdigital Science and Education.
Dr. Juliana Raffaghelli
Dr. Juliana Elisa Raffaghelli is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Pedagogy and Applied Psychology at the University of Padova in Italy. Her interdisciplinary research explores educational technology, postdigital education, critical data literacy, learning ecologies, and the ethical and critical implications of Artificial Intelligence in education. She currently coordinates the University of Padova’s doctoral program in Pedagogical, Educational and Instructional Sciences and has contributed extensively to international scholarship on technology, education, data literacy, and AI ethics. Dr. Raffaghelli is also the founder of ETH-TECH, an interuniversity project on AI and ethics co-funded by the European Union.
Sergio Carvajal-Leoni
Sergio Carvajal-Leoni is a Venezuelan-born, Texas-based transmedia creator and educator who has spent nearly three decades developing projects that connect communities through storytelling and learning. His award-winning work includes the web series El Gallo, the cult film Tiramisu for Two, and Education Is Boring, a documentary series showcasing innovators who make education relevant in a post-digital world; his films have screened at Tribeca, South by Southwest, and Traverse City. He is pursuing a doctoral degree in Adult, Professional, and Community Education at Texas State Unviersity.
LinkedIn Profile
RESOURCES
Expand your knowledge and satisfy your curiosity
Credits
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Romina Olson
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Jean de Oliveira
HOST
Sergio Carvajal-Leoni
PRODUCER
Sergio Carvajal-Leoni
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Annelly Estrada
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Various from Youtube
ANIMATIONS
Juan Olmedillo
Media usage disclaimer:
This video story is a non-profit educational effort; all media sampled and used conforms with fair use licensing (education). Several videos used are also in the public domain or licensed through Creative Commons attribution.
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