Past Events
“Methodological Challenges of Studying Civics Online & Offline”
A discussion between Profs Jenkins & Lichterman on the use of ethnographic approaches to studying civics in offline and online environments, focusing on their respective projects and points of intersection.
“Civil Varieties of Conservative Student Style and Discourse in American Universities”
Conservative pundits allege that the pervasive liberalism of America’s colleges and universities has detrimental effects on undergraduates, most particularly right-leaning ones. Yet not enough attention has been paid to young conservatives, themselves, to test these claims. In her recent book Becoming Right: How Campuses Shape Young Conservatives (Princeton University Press 2013), Amy Binder uses qualitative and survey data to outline who conservative students are and how their beliefs and political activism relate to their university experience. Which parts of conservatism do these students identify with? What are the institutional features of different universities that lead to key differences in young people’s conservative styles? How do national conservative organizations connect with American colleges and universities to recruit a cadre of future leaders? Finally, what do these students’ educational experiences portend for their own futures–and for the future of American conservatism?
“The Virtues of Participation Without Power: Digital Campaigning and the Ends of Institutional Politics”
Kreiss’ research explores the impact of technological change on the public sphere and political practice. In his book from Oxford University Press — “Taking Our Country Back: The Crafting of Networked Politics from Howard Dean to Barack Obama” — he presents the untold history of new media and Democratic political campaigning over the last decade. The book follows the work of a group of young internet staffers who came together on the Dean campaign and created a number of innovations in online campaigning. After the elections, Dean’s former staffers launched prominent political consulting firms that carried their innovations to many other campaigns, including Obama’s bid for the presidency.
Book launch: DIY Citizenship: Critical Making and Social Media (Eds. Matt Ratto and Megan Boler, MIT Press, 2014)
The event will include chapter authors addressing their contributions and debates about the ethos and zeitgeist of “do-it-yourself,” of the need to reclaim and redefine such terms as “citizenship”, and Q/A discussion with audience about the role of social media, “making” and activism within the new media landscapes. Come and enjoy food and beverages and get your brand new copy signed by multiple authors!
“Civics, Design, and Participation at Neighborhood and City Scales”
A conversation on digital media design, civic activism, community participation, and provocative technology interventions, focusing on projects by Prof Francois Bar and Anne Bray.
Screening and discussion of John Akomfrah’s documentary “The Stuart Hall Project”
“A founding figure of contemporary cultural studies and one of the most inspiring voices of the post-war Left Stuart Hall¹s resounding and ongoing influence on British intellectual life commenced soon after he emigrated from Jamaica in 1951. Combining extensive archival imagery—television excerpts, home movies, family photos—with specially filmed material and a personally mixed Miles Davis soundtrack, Akomfrah¹s filmmaking approach matches the agility of Hall¹s intellect, its intimate play with memory, identity and scholarly impulse traversing the changing historical landscape of the second half of the 20th century.”
http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/bfi-film-releases/stuart-hall-project
