Digital Spatialities: A Critical, Visual, and Ethnographic Social Media Methodologies Workshop

This workshop will bring together scholars pursuing research on social media phenomena within the US and globally. The morning panels (Dekalb 208, 10 AM–12 PM) will explore hashtag activism (#yonomequito in Puerto Rico), alternative news production in Turkey, and Filipina migrant workers’ engagement in digital counter-surveillance practices.

From 2.30-4.30 PM (Alumni Reading Room), Idalin Bobé (founder of Techactivist.Org) will facilitate a workshop entitled: “The Media is the Most Powerful Entity: Learned Lessons in Organizing during the Age of Social Media and Bias Algorithms.” This workshop draws from Idalin’s experiences using social media to mobilize while being at the frontlines during the Ferguson #BlackLivesMatter protests, as well as her efforts at equipping minoritized youth with critical social media literacy skills.

At 5.30pm (Alumni Reading Room), Prof. Frances Negrón-Muntaner (Columbia University) will deliver her keynote lecture “The ‘Valor y Cambio’ Project: Practicing Art, Narrative and Just Economies in Puerto Rico,” informed by her current community currency project in Puerto Rico, and her extensive experience as an activist, writer, filmmaker, curator, and educator pushing for alternative forms of sovereignty across world regions.

This event would not be possible without the generous sponsorship of the Global South Center, the SEED Grant, and the Academic Senate Initiatives Fund.