October 21, NetSci Speaker Series Talk, #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice
Guest speaker: Brooke Foucault Welles
Brooke Foucault Welles is the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Arts, Media, and Design and Director of the Network Science PhD Program at Northeastern University. Combining the methods of network science with theories from the social sciences, Welles studies power and amplification in online communication networks, with particular emphasis on how these networks mitigate and exacerbate marginalization. Her work is interdisciplinary and collaborative, with co-authors from computer science, political science, digital humanities, design, and public health. She is the co-author of #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Networked Communication.
The proliferation of social media has given rise to widespread study and speculation about the impact of digital technologies on politics, activism, and social change. Key among these debates is the role social media play in shaping the contemporary public sphere, and by proxy, our democracy. Maligned by some as “slacktivism,” Welles will argue social media platforms such as Twitter create unique opportunities for traditionally excluded voices to challenge the terms of public debate. Using the evidence from Twitter hashtag networks such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, she will demonstrate how hashtag activism complements other forms of activism to change the terms of mainstream public debates about race and gender justice in the United States.
Event link: https://go.rutgers.edu/tihnyf4o
Guest speaker: Brooke Foucault Welles
Brooke Foucault Welles is the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Arts, Media, and Design and Director of the Network Science PhD Program at Northeastern University. Combining the methods of network science with theories from the social sciences, Welles studies power and amplification in online communication networks, with particular emphasis on how these networks mitigate and exacerbate marginalization. Her work is interdisciplinary and collaborative, with co-authors from computer science, political science, digital humanities, design, and public health. She is the co-author of #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice and co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Networked Communication.
The proliferation of social media has given rise to widespread study and speculation about the impact of digital technologies on politics, activism, and social change. Key among these debates is the role social media play in shaping the contemporary public sphere, and by proxy, our democracy. Maligned by some as “slacktivism,” Welles will argue social media platforms such as Twitter create unique opportunities for traditionally excluded voices to challenge the terms of public debate. Using the evidence from Twitter hashtag networks such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, she will demonstrate how hashtag activism complements other forms of activism to change the terms of mainstream public debates about race and gender justice in the United States.
Event link: https://go.rutgers.edu/tihnyf4o