Dissemination

Susana Costa Approved with Distinction in Public Doctoral Defense

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On June 23, 2025, Susana Raquel Gonçalves da Costa Mendes da Silva, a researcher at Center for Research in Arts and Communication (CIAC), successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled IN[THE HATE BOOTH]: Containing Hate Speech in Games and Digital Communities through Citizenship and Digital Literacy, within the PhD Programme in Digital Media-Art, specialization in Communication, Culture and Art, at the University of Algarve.

The public defense took place in the Videoconference Room (0.10), in Building 1 of the Gambelas Campus of the University of Algarve, before a jury chaired by Professor Ana Isabel Candeias Dias Soares (FCHS – UAlg) and composed of the following members:

• Professor Rui Filipe Fernandes Prada (Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon)
• Professor Nelson Troca Zagalo (University of Aveiro)
• Professor Mirian Estela Nogueira Tavares (FCHS – University of Algarve)
• Professor Manuel Célio de Jesus da Conceição (FCHS – University of Algarve)
• Professor Francisco Alexandre Lopes Figueiredo Merino (University of Beira Interior)
• Professor Pedro Jorge Agostinho Alves da Veiga (Universidade Aberta)

Professors Rui Prada and Nelson Zagalo served as the main examiners.

The thesis, approved unanimously with the grade of Very Good, with distinction (cum laude), focuses on the issue of hate speech in digital societies, proposing a creative and intervention-based approach through the game-installation IN[THE HATE BOOTH].

Developed within a practice-based research methodology, the project combines narrative and participatory strategies with the aim of promoting digital literacy and combating the spread of hate speech in online environments.

The game-installation, also integrated into the PROPS project – Interactive Narratives Propose Pluralist Discourse – has been presented in various educational and community contexts. One of the most significant examples was its presentation at the Francisco Fernandes Lopes School Cluster in Olhão, where it was experienced by several classes from both lower and upper secondary education. Through a pedagogical itinerary and with the support of the school library, students were invited to interact with an immersive environment that simulates the mysterious closure of a web page. In this space, participants explore an interactive fiction challenge that encourages critical reflection on phenomena such as cyberbullying, online harassment, and hate speech.

The work proposes a three-dimensional experience that goes beyond the digital, promoting active public engagement and bringing academic research closer to concrete social issues. The distinction awarded highlights the merit, originality, and impact of this research, which stands out as a relevant contribution to studies in digital media art and to the development of innovative practices of artistic, educational, and social intervention.

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