Culture as Data:  Social Spaces on the Internet

Critical Studies as BIG DATA: Making the Case for Cultural Approaches to Media and Technology Studies

Mary L. Gray

Department of Communication and Culture, Indiana University and Microsoft Research  

Drawing from my research in queer studies, especially ethnographic approaches to youth and media, I argue that critical studies provides a compelling framework as a particular kind of “big data.” Big data researchers who aspire to build technologies for human communication must be as invested in pushing open new terrain for questions as they are in finding answers about what technologies mean to people in their everyday lives.

Held in anticipation of the Center for Advanced Study 2012-2013 Initiative Culture as Data: Social Spaces on the Internet . CAS Resident Associates Karrie Karahalios (Computer Science) and Christian Sandvig (Media and Cinema Studies; Communication) will lead this initiative.

For more information: cas.illinois.edu