May 19, 2022
In his recent book, Design as Democratic Inquiry: Putting Experimental Civics into Practice, Carl DiSalvo presents an argument for “doing design otherwise”. Arguing that democracy requires constant renewal and care, he shows how designers can supply novel contributions to local democracy by drawing together theory and practice, making and reflection. The relentless pursuit of innovation, uncritical embrace of the new and novel, and treatment of all things as design problems, he suggests, can lead to cultural imperialism. As a counterpoint, he recounts a series of projects that exemplify engaged design in practice. These experiments in practice-based research are grounded in collaborations with communities and institutions.
April 24, 2021
Building on the conversation initiated back in 2019 at the first D & CA workshop, this year’s forum brings together scholars, journalists, graduate students, artists, adjunct lecturers, para-academics, public scholars, community organizers, and data/information professionals interested in thinking through the relationship between activism and research. We want to highlight, support, and advance activist responses to datafication, especially in the context of the lived experiences of racialized and minoritized communities.
April 19, 2021
Where do the motivating ideas behind Artificial Intelligence come from and what do they imply? What claims to universality or particularity are made by AI systems? How do the movements of ideas, data, and materials shape the present and likely futures of AI development? Join us for a conversation with social scientist and AI scholar Kate Crawford about the intellectual history and geopolitical contexts of contemporary AI research and practice.
