Resources

Podcast

Language(s): English

In the fourth episode of the "Internet Futures" series Luisa Conti and Fergal Lenehan talk to Emilian Franco from the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, where he is a lecturer and a PhD scholar. Emilian talked about his research dealing with the production of Artificial Intelligence in Brazil. The conversation touched on the landscape of Brazilian AI, how cultural anthropologists research Artificial Intelligence, the metaphors of ‘devouring’ and ‘eating’, and Emilian’s research experiences in Brazil. So, is a critical and interculturally competent AI likely, and could it perhaps be produced in Brazil? Listen to find out!

Podcast

Language(s): English

In the third episode of the "Internet FUtures" series Fergal Lenehan and Luisa Conti, from the Centre for Digital Interculturality Studies, talk to Mareike Schütt, a lecturer and PhD scholar at the University of Jena in Germany. The conversation touches on the subject of Mereike’s PhD research, namely the Solarpunk movement – what this is, where it can be found, how Mareike is researching it and, indeed, if it can really be termed a movement at all. So, how does the Solarpunk ‘movement’ relate to the scholarly area of Intercultural Communications, and how do Solarpunks imagine the future of the Internet? Listen to find out! Photo: Studio Schumann

Video

The fourth ReDICo conference “Digital Pasts and Futures: Internet Histories, Digital Interculturality and Reimagining Digitality” took place online 23-24 June 2025. It brought together scholars who engage with internet histories, digital futures and digital interculturality so as to initiate a discussion regarding the reimagining of digitality. It featured wide and interdisciplinary approaches that go beyond the presentism that often marks media and communication studies, while also engaging with alternative visions of how digitality can be construed, not least from an intercultural perspective. Recordings of the following presentations are available on ReDICo's youtube channel: • Helle Strandgaard-Jensen (University of Aarhus) Inter-linked Imaginaries and the Early Web for Kids • Martin Munke (Saxon State and University Library Dresden/Dresden University of Technology) The Paradox of Place, or: Digital Boundaries in a Borderless World? Regional History Web Portals as Media of Transregionality and Transculturality • Anna Nacher (Jagiellonian University, Kraków) Digital Infrastructures at the End of the World: What has Melted into the Air, Needs to be Re-Captured • Emilian Franco (Bundeswehr University Munich) AI and Interculturality: The Brazilian Discourse on AI Development • Freyja van den Boom (University of Antwerp) Reimagining Digitality Through Causal Layered Tetrad Analysis (CLTA): A Critical Framework for AI Governance • Ekaterina Senina (Hochschule Hamm-Lippstadt) The Yoshi-P Effect: Parasocial Relationships and In-Game Culture in Final Fantasy XIV • Luisa Conti (University of Jena) The – Possibly Transformative – Digital Transformation of Education • Tomás Cajueiro (independent scholar) Decolonizing Digital Geographies: Journalism and the Creation of possible Imaginaries • Yolanda López García (Chemnitz University of Technology) Content Creators and the Reconfiguration of Digital Interculturality • Ethan Zuckerman (University of Massachusetts Amherst) The Quotidian Web: The Long Tail of Online Video and the Accidental Archive • Valérie Schafer (University of Luxembourg) Revisiting Internet Histories through Interculturality • Nathalie Fridzema (University of Groningen) and Anya Shchetvina (Humboldt University Berlin) Nostalgia, DIY, and Internet Critique: The Emergence of the ‘Vernacular Web’ as an Imaginary of Alternative Digital Futures • Julia Polyck-O’Neill (Memorial University of Newfoundland) Epistemic Uncertainty: ‘Junk Data,’ Digital Futures, and the Intercultural Limits of Big Data Management in the Artist Archive • Tess McNulty (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) The Uplifting Anecdote: On the Long Pre-History of a Major Viral Genre • Martina Di Tullio (University of Buenos Aires) Rooting the Internet: A Local History of Communication Practices in Rural-Indigenous Jujuy Puna (Argentina) • Y. Silverman (Northwestern University – Civic Education Project) A Transformative Autoethnographic Analysis of Acquaint.org’s Platform • Mareike Schütt (University of Jena) The Solarpunk movement as a transcultural force reimagining global connectivity, digital inclusivity, and ecological sustainability • Andrew Bailey (Concordia University) Archiving the Self: MaddyMakesGames.com and the Digital Memory of Indie Game Development • Ramesh Srinivasan (University of California, Los Angeles) Beyond Fragmentation – A Path for Technology to Support our Collective Futures

Podcast

Language(s): English

This is episode 2 of the podcast season "Internet Futures". In this episode Luisa Conti and Fergal Lenehan, from the Centre for Digital Interculturality Studies, talk to Nathalie Fridzema from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and Anya Shchetvina from the Humboldt University of Berlin in Germany. Nathalie and Anya are PhD scholars and historians of the Internet, who presented a paper at the ReDICo-Conference in June 2025 called “Nostalgia, DIY and Internet Critique: The Emergence of the Vernacular Web as an Imaginary of Alternative Digital Futures.” The conversation touches on the vernacular web and what exactly this is, platforms dealing with the past of the Internet such as the Yesterweb, and the nostalgia-tinged imagining of Internet futures. So, is the vernacular web simply a nostalgic-conservative imaginary of the past or is it, actually, a suitable imaginary for re-thinking the future of digitality, beyond the stranglehold of corporate platforms? Listen to find out!

Podcast

Language(s): English

This is the first episode of season 2 "Internet Futures "of "ReDICo: The Podcast for Digital Interculturality". In this episode Fergal Lenehan and Luisa Conti, from the Centre for Digital Interculturality Studies, talk to Ethan Zuckerman. Ethan is a world-recognized expert in the field of the digital and is a professor at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, USA. He has published widely and his book, Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection, originally from 2013, has been highly influential among those who wish to see more connection between the scholarly areas of Internet Studies and Intercultural Communications. The conversation engages with Ethan’s recent work on digital archives and the topic of random archiving, the different uses of the platforms YouTube and TikTok in different cultural contexts, and concludes with a discussion on the future of the Internet as Fergal asks Ethan to re-visit his arguments from 2013 for the present time. Can the Internet, a tool which can potentially connect people rather than contributing further to polarization, really be rethought for the future in a more cosmopolitan manner? Listen to find out!

Podcast

Language(s): English

Future Knowledge explores the intersection of technology, culture, and information policy with leading authors, scholars, and experts. From copyright and open access to AI and digital preservation, we discuss the big issues shaping knowledge and creativity in the digital age. Recorded live at the Internet Archive Canada in Vancouver, this discussion features historian Ian Milligan, author of Averting the Digital Dark Age, in conversation with Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive. Guided by journalist Takara Small, the discussion explores Canada’s role in preserving our digital heritage—and why safeguarding born-digital history is more urgent than ever.

Platform

Language(s): English

OER website featuring syllabi, resources and posts. “Misogynoir in Digital Spaces” delves into the critical examination of the unique challenges faced by Black women in the digital realm due to the intersection of misogyny and anti-Black racism, known as misogynoir. Students will explore the historical context, manifestations, and impacts of misogynoir in online environments. Through case studies, discussions, and contemporary examples, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of Black women online and how digital platforms can both perpetuate and challenge misogynoir. This course fosters awareness, promotes critical thinking, and encourages conversations about equity and inclusion in the digital age.

Podcast

Language(s): English

What does it mean to be human and alive in our digitally transformed world? How can we recommit to ourselves and others while leveraging technology for our best purposes? How do we double down on our most important human values? Hosted by tech author, scholar, and thought leader, UCLA professor Ramesh Srinivasan, the Utopias podcast presents a new narrative, a vision of life futures based on a set of conversations that celebrate the work and perspectives of “dreamers”, or those who represent and care deeply for the endless potential for human creativity, expression, and compassion.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Our host Ethan Zuckerman introduces iDPI’s new podcast by talking about the need for creating online spaces in the public interest, serving civic good instead of a corporate profit motive. Join us as we interview activists, scholars, journalists, and entrepreneurs reimagining the internet as we know it today.

Other type

Language(s): English

While historical research is comfortable working with primary sources from the deceased and works well to reconstruct narratives and imaginaries, historical internet research must adapt to engaging with the liveliness of the research subjects. Despite the experiential and conceptual distance between contemporary internet research and web materials from the 1990s, there are overwhelmingly strong connections that put people at risk of harm through engagement with decades-old material. A feminist ethics of care for archived web data might thus insist on new ways of engagement with the creators of materials held in web archives. Bringing participants into the research about their own digital traces is more than just obtaining informed consent; it also creates opportunities to design methodologies that involve participants’ eagerness and excitement over revisiting, remembering and unearthing their digital traces, and significantly, exploring opportunities for reclamation.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Reminding Myself of a Lost Media Show, What is Lost Media, What is Lost, Turn-on, The Thrill of Finding, Endless Uploads, ZIPs inside ISOs, That Old Razzle-Dazzle, Campfire Stories. Historian and loudmouth Jason Scott shares stories of technology, retrocomputing, documentary filmmaking, and general schennanigans from his decades of travels and research. From experiences on the road while shooting documentaries to often-obscure points of order, Jason keeps a fast-moving pace and even he doesn't know where we're ending up at the end.

Video

Language(s): English

Short documentary about the geeks who created Slashdot.org, Everything2.com and Perlmonks.org. Made by Michael Stevenson in 2019 as part of the Dutch research council funded project 'The Web that Was' (project 275-45-006).

Other type

Language(s): English

A playlist for students of Histories of Digital Culture including books, podcasts, videos, maps and other resources.

Podcast

Language(s): English

How do digital technologies mediate racism? It is increasingly clear that digital technologies, including auto-complete function, facial recognition, and profiling tools are not neutral but racialized in specific ways. This webinar focuses on the different modes of programmed racism. We present historical and contemporary examples of racial bias in computational systems and learn about the potential of Civic AI. We discuss the need for a global perspective and postcolonial approaches to computation and discrimination. What research agenda is needed to address current problems and inequalities?

Video

Language(s): English

As part of a course on Media and Migration Dr. Amanda Alencar and Dr. Koen Leurs present an introduction to Digital Migration.

Video

Language(s): English

The Oxford Internet Institute (OII) brings you Dr Francesca Sobande, lecturer in digital media studies and director of the BA Media, Journalism and Culture programme at Cardiff University, hosted by Professor Gina Neff of the OII. How are the digital experiences of Black women in Britain shaped by various crises (including the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing antiblackness)? What role does digital remix culture play in memory-making, archiving, and reimagining temporality during times of crisis? In what ways are brands in Britain attempting to align themselves with social justice movements and tap into the digital content and cultural production of Black women? Guided by such questions and based on over five years of research, this session focuses on the digital experiences of Black women in Britain and the rise of brand “woke-washing” which involves commercial organisations pursuing profit under the guise of activism.

Video

Language(s): English

Prof. Petar Jandrić (Zagreb University of Applied Sciences) addresses the following three topics in his keynote speech: 1) postdigital science and education, 2) the philosophy of bioinformatics, and 3) postdigital knowledge ecosystems. Prof. Jandrić’s research is based on a broad postdigital approach.

Podcast

Language(s): German

Chat-Foren, Social Media, Online-Communities – das Internet bietet viele Adressen und Bezugspunkte, die sich als „digitale Räume“ umschreiben lassen. Man kann dort Gleichgesinnten begegnen, sich informieren, seinen Interessen nachgehen – oder aber sehr gezielt bestimmte Personengruppen identifizieren und sogar kontaktieren. Die soziale Arbeit tut dies. Sie hat, angeführt durch Pioniere eines „Digital Streetwork“, das Internet als Zugangsmöglichkeit zu schwer erreichbaren oder besonders vulnerablen Zielgruppen entdeckt. Und obwohl gerade kleine, spezialisierte Netzwerke die Sozialarbeiter als Ergänzung und Entlastung (oft ehrenamtlicher) Content-Moderatoren schätzen und unterstützen, ist aufsuchende digitale Kommunikation noch nicht in der Breite sozialer Arbeit etabliert. Spezifische Kompetenzen, die „digitale“ Sozialarbeiterinnen und Sozialarbeitet für ein glaubhaftes und vertrauenswürdiges Auftreten in Netz-Communities brauchen, sind kaum Teil der Ausbildung. Politische Unterstützung und öffentliche Nachfrage laufen nur langsam an. Allerdings sind auch die Interessen und Geschäftspraktiken großer, kommerzieller Plattformen nicht unbedingt kompatibel mit den Bedingungen für eine seriöse, an professionellen Standards orientierten Sozialarbeit.

Video

Language(s): English

Recent advances in the capability of digital information technologies—particularly due to advances in artificial intelligence—have invigorated the debate on the ethical issues surrounding their use. However, this debate has often been dominated by ‘Western’ ethical perspectives, values, and interests, to the exclusion of broader ethical and socio-cultural perspectives. Against this backdrop, the 2021 Symposium on Intercultural Digital Ethics will bring together a range of cultural, social, and structural perspectives on the ethical issues relating to digital information technologies, with the aim of broadening the approach of digital and AI ethics. The symposium will be hosted virtually by the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy on November 3 and 4.

Other type

Language(s): English

What is the purpose of libraries in the era of the internet and AI? Whether at a school or in a community, libraries used to be key providers of information and enjoyment for many. But now, in a digital age, more books and periodicals are available online than even the biggest library can hold. If terabytes of text can now be stored on a single laptop, do we need to think differently about the way we access and navigate books? Could well-designed AI tools be trusted to make sense of this information abundance in a similar way that a good librarian can?

Podcast

Language(s): English

In the latest episode of Unlocking Academia, host Raja Aderdor sits down with Marc Owen Jones, associate professor at Northwestern University in Qatar, to explore the complex world of digital deception in the Middle East, as outlined in his book Digital Authoritarianism in the Middle East: Deception, Disinformation and Social Media (Hurst/Oxford UP, 2021).

Platform

Language(s): German

QueerSearch macht queere Geschichte sichtbar: Daten und Sammlungsobjekte aus verschiedenen europäischen Archiven und Sammlungen machen queere Geschichte digital zugänglich. Ob Forschende, Interessierte oder Kulturinstitutionen – hier finden Sie eine zentrale Anlaufstelle, um queeres Leben und seine vielfältigen Facetten zu entdecken und zu erforschen.

Video

Language(s): English

This webinar focuses on the themes and issues in Part III of The Ethics of Researching the Far Right: The Haunting Past: Memory and Far Right Studies. In this webinar, the contributors consider how collective memory and heritage are appropriated and mobilised by the far right in order to project their ideologies across history. They reflect, further, on the ethical obligation of archaeologists, historians, social scientists, and heritage workers to recognise the political nature of their research, to debunk the far-right’s narratives of past and present, and to condemn white supremacy across history. At a time when research in the field is increasingly presentist, they demonstrate that we must absolutely engage with wider historical contexts if we are to understand the current resurgence of far right movements and parties. The contributions look at and reflect on these issues in relation to the politics of the field, research methods and, crucially, their identities and experiences as researchers.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Evelyn Douek talks with Ethan Zuckerman about TikTok, the first amendment, sinophobia and understanding what the rule of law means at this very weird moment in time.

Platform

new database of 200+ social media research tools

Podcast

Language(s): English

In this episode of Read Them Sideways, your host Sebastian Svegaard speaks with Dr Catherine Knight Steele. Catherine is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland - College Park. Her research focuses on race, gender, and media, with a specific emphasis on Black culture and discourse. She examines representations of marginalized communities in the media and how groups resist oppression and practice joy using online technology to create spaces of community. Sebastian chats with Catherine about the utility of "joy", and its relation with automation, technology, and digital feminism.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Sociolinguist Dr Christian Ilbury returns to PPLS Perspectives with PhD student Gilly Marchini. In this episode they discuss how digital culture and technology have changed the way in which we use or interact with language.

Podcast

Language(s): German

Museen, Theater und Gedenkstätten haben in den letzten Jahren mit Künstlicher Intelligenz und anderen Technologien experimentiert, digitale Ästhetiken und neue Arbeitsweisen wie Co-Kreation und Prototyping erprobt und diverse Communities aufgebaut. Auch die im Fonds Digital geförderten Kultureinrichtungen konnten ein breites Wissen rund um den digitalen Wandel sammeln. Ihre vielfältigen Erfahrungen und Empfehlungem möchten wir gern weitergeben: Herzlich willkommen bei Gamechanger – Wie digitaler Wandel die Kultur verändert (externer Link, öffnet neues Fenster), unserem aktuellen sechsteiligen Podcast!

Podcast

Language(s): English

Each episode of the podcast focuses on the daily life of a specific digital anthropologist exploring their work and what it means to be an anthropologist in virtual spaces.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Brynn Quick speaks with Dr Amy McHugh, an Academic Facilitator at the National Centre for Cultural Competence at the University of Sydney. Dr McHugh’s research focuses on the roles of technology and motivation in the continuous pursuit of cultural competence, and she facilitates workshops for both staff and students at the University of Sydney on these topics while working as the unit coordinator for the centre’s Open Learning Environment (OLE) “The Fundamentals of Cultural Competence.” She also teaches online courses to undergraduate and graduate students in intercultural communication for the State University of New York at Oswego.In this episode, Brynn and Amy discuss Amy’s doctoral thesis entitled “Learning From Student Perceptions and Peer Feedback in a Virtual Exchange: Reconceptualizing Intercultural Competence as ‘ICCCSA’ – Intercultural Competence as a Co-Constructed and Situated Achievement”. This thesis explored Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and its influence on (inter)cultural competence in digital spaces.

Podcast

In the sixth episode of the OII Podcast, our experts discuss topics such as: * The real world impacts that arise when people increasingly identify with their political tribes online * What role governments are playing in combating misinformation, and what more should be done to tackle this problem at a policy level * What the future holds for misinformation on social media, in the wake of generative AI, deepfakes and ever-evolving algorithms Professor Mohsen Mosleh is Associate Professor of Social Data Science at the Oxford Internet Institute. His research focuses on how misinformation and disinformation spread on social media, and how ties are formed on social networks. Cameron Martel is a PhD candidate at MIT Sloan School of Management and an incoming assistant professor at John Hopkins Carey Business School, focusing on why people believe and share misinformation, what forces shape the online social networks through which misinformation may spread, and which content moderation interventions are effective for improving online information quality.

Podcast

Language(s): Engliah

Why have our new right-wing overlords taken such a shine to chintzy, shiny AI slop? What is persuasive about these phony, artless, slightly desperate images? How do they originate, and how do they circulate? For this episode, Moira and Adrian are joined by Roland Meyer, who is a professor of digital cultures and arts at the University of Zurich and the University of the Arts in Zurich, Switzerland. If you're trying to picture the kinds of image they're discussing, it might be helpful to check out Roland's huge thread on Bluesky. And if you're trying to follow along with our discussion of specific images, we have collected a bunch of the examples we discuss in the episode here.

Podcast

Language(s): English

lle interviews Dr. Damien P. Williams, an assistant professor in philosophy and data science at UNC Charlotte, about the philosophy of contemporary (and future!) technologies. Dr. Williams discusses the Super Crip narrative, the importance of centering marginalized experiences in tech development, and the implications of accessible technology, highlighting the need for genuine engagement and ethical considerations in tech design. And yes, they even discuss the elephant in the room: “AI”

Video

Language(s): English

This talk reflects on AI from the perspective of the framework of data colonialism (Couldry and Mejias, 2019). AI, in practical terms, represents the application of a hugely increase in computing capacity, but from the perspective of data colonialism as the continuation of five centuries of colonialism’s interlocking relations with capitalism is just the latest in a long series of colonial landgrabs. AI treats the whole world of human communicative production as its data territory (Mejias and Couldry, Data Grab, Penguin/Fischer February 2024). But AI’s territorial expansion is broader than the platform-based capture of social life that until recently fuelled data colonialism. Without denying the scientific power of AI for specific calculative goals, AI as a business vision captures the domain of knowledge and aims to convert it into a new domain whose parameters fit more closely within corporate control. Examples of new AI territories such as education will be discussed.

Video

Language(s): English

Sonia Fizek's (Cologne Game Lab, THKöln) addresses questions and dilemmas of green game design and production.

Podcast

Language(s): German

In welcher digitalen Gesellschaft wollen wir eigentlich leben? Genau dieser Frage widmet sich die CAISzeit. Im Podcast des Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS) diskutieren wir mit Forscher:innen aus verschiedenen Disziplinen, wie die digitale Transformation unsere Gesellschaft verändert. Welche Gefahren gibt es im digitalen Raum und welche Potentiale eröffnet er? Welche digitalen Innovationen bestimmen die Zukunft? Wie verändern digitale Technologien schon jetzt, wie wir arbeiten, uns informieren und uns unsere Meinung bilden? Vor dem Hintergrund wissenschaftlicher Forschung blicken wir mit unseren Gästen auf facettenreiche Phänomene der Digitalisierung. Der digitale Wandel ist dabei mehr als eine rein technologische Erscheinung. Als sozio-technischer Prozess prägt er bereits jetzt Politik, Wirtschaft, Medien, Kultur und unser gesamtes soziales Zusammenleben.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Platforms are now an almost ubiquitous feature of schools. Neil Selwyn talks with Lucas Cone (University of Copenhagen) about his work around teachers’ everyday engagements with platforms – in particular the benefits of using affect theory to make sense of teachers’ affiliations and relationships with these clearly problematic technologies.

Podcast

Hosts Moose and Ponch dive into the digital frontier with Mark Graham, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a key figure at the Internet Archive, a nonprofit founded by Brewster Kahle in 1996 to preserve the web and humanity’s published works. Often called a modern-day Library of Alexandria, the Internet Archive has grown from its early days of recording the web to archiving treasures like Grateful Dead bootlegs and Pentagon news clippings. This episode explores the challenges of saving history in the digital age—from emulating lost tech like Flash to harnessing AI’s potential to tackle humanity’s biggest issues. It’s a must-listen for curious minds eager to understand how we archive the web and why it matters. Tune in to discover how the past shapes tomorrow and why preserving it is key!

Podcast

Language(s): English

A conversation with Martina Di Tullio, anthropologist at University of Buenos Aires, about her ethnographic work on the incorporation of digital technologies in rural-Indigenous Andean communities. Martina researches the use of digital technologies in rural indigenous communities in the Puna of Jujuy, Northwest Argentina. The Jujuy Puna is part of the so-called Lithium Triangle, a high-altitude desert area where lithium – one of the most important minerals for the production of digital technologies – is mined and processed, leading to the pollution of scarce water resources. In addition, the rural and indigenous population, who have always lived in this region, are excluded from the products of this exploitation. In this episode, Martina talks to us about the political meanings and consequences of these processes for everyday life in the Puna villages, about issues of digital sovereignty and the struggles of the communities. She argues that the spread of algorithmic digital media represents a new dimension of a centuries-old structure of coloniality for indigenous peoples in Latin America.

Video

Language(s): German

In her presentation at Chaos Communication Camp 2023, Prof. Dr. Lena Ulbricht sheds light on how feminist and decolonial perspectives question liberal views on digital technologies and highlight alternative approaches to shaping digitalized societies.

Video

Language(s): German

Interview mit Antisemitismusforscherin Isolde Vogel vom Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (DÖW) für die Zeit im Bild (ZIB) zu antisemitischen und rechtsextremen Codes.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Learn what young people think about the online world, including content moderation, misinformation and Generative AI The online world is constantly changing, and young people are often more informed about online trends than adults. Young people are equipped with their own knowledge and understanding of what they need to know and do to stay safe online. It’s important to listen to their thoughts and opinions, and try to incorporate their voice into your online safety work. In this podcast episode, you’ll hear from Will and Zara, two young people from the NSPCC’s Voice of Online Youth group. They provide an insight into what life online is like for them, what makes them feel safe online and what online safety topics they’d like to learn more about.

Platform

Language(s): English

Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD) is EFF's online guide to defending yourself and your friends from surveillance by using secure technology and developing careful practices. In addition to tutorials for installing and using security-friendly software, SSD walks you through concepts like making a security plan, the importance of strong passwords, and protecting metadata. Learn more about how you and your community can stay safe and secure online.

Podcast

Language(s): English

In this episode of the Language on the Move podcast, Brynn Quick speaks with Dr. Laura Smith-Khan about language and accents in children’s media, from Octonauts to Disney to Bluey, and they investigate what a choice as seemingly banal as a character’s accent has to do with whiteness, standard language ideology, and securing a nation’s borders. They then reflect on Laura’s most recently published paper (with co-authors Distinguished Professor Ingrid Piller and Dr. Hanna Torsh) and how accents and language are used to shape discourses around migration and belonging.

Video

Language(s): English

ART REVEALS AND EXPLAINS more than historical text. Art can also be prophetic, telegraphing trends and nascent ideologies before they are articulated in the culture. Art is the ultimate arbitrator of a multi-dimensional chronology of life on our planet. With that idea in mind, I wanted to discuss the phenomenon of internet memes with Aidan Walker , the author of the How to Do Things With Memes newsletter of Substack—and my guest today on the WOODRUFF cast. It’s easy to dismiss memes as cyber effluvia, but as Aiden explains in our discussion, they represent more than we imagine.

Podcast

Language(s): English

Panel discussion The hype surrounding digital technologies in education has now partly been replaced with a opposite tendency where schools worldwide are going back to printed books and banning mobile phones from the classroom. At the same time, digital technologies are deeply embedded in educational practices and the global ed-tech industry is thriving. In this panel, four distinguished researchers from the field of media and education give their perspectives on this development: · Neil Selwyn, Professor in the Faculty of Education (Monash University, Australia) · Petar Jandrić, Professor of Information Science (Zagreb University of Applied Science, Croatia) · Felicitas Macgilchrist, Professor of Digital Education and Schooling (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany) · Sarah Hayes, Professor of Education and Research Lead (Bath Spa University, UK)

Podcast

Language(s): English

What is the connection between fan culture and feminism? In Media Fandom, Digital Feminisms, and Tumblr (Bloomsbury, 2023), Briony Hannell, a lecturer in sociology at the University of Manchester, explores the intersection of fandom, in a variety of forms, and feminist discourses on social media. Using an in-depth case study of Tumblr, the book charts the creation of a community of feminist fans, showing how the sense of being a feminist and belonging to a digital community are created and maintained online. The analysis also reflects on how this community includes and excludes particular social groups, showing the potential and the limits of digital spaces for feminist ideas and activities. A vital intervention at a moment where social media spaces are being transformed in various ways, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary digital world.

Video

Language(s): English

What can we learn from poets and coders who engineered a parallel internet that, by 1992, had email servers running in 72 countries? Peer to Peer’ is a deep-dive into data sovereignty and decentralised data flows as described by two generations of information communication rights peers.

Podcast

Language(s): English

I start the new year with an episode on "data colonialism". I had the great pleasure of speaking with Ulises A. Mejias and Nick Couldry about our contemporary relationship to corporations, about the idea that there’s no capitalism without colonialism (and vice versa), about how human lives are being exploited these days, and about data being a cheap resource. Recorded December 16, 2024. Released January 6, 2025.

Platform

Language(s): English

A collection of innovations by women in the fields of computer science and technology.