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FILM 48.04 - Social Justice and Computing

This is a course guide for FILM 48.04.

Course description

This course draws on feminist and queer scholarship to examine the intricate relationship between datafication, ubiquitous computing, and social justice, highlighting the politics and impacts of data-driven processes and big data on human lives. One of the key highlights of WGSS engagements with computing history is the focus on the politics and impacts of data-driven processes and big data on human lives. The course will provide a brief introduction to histories of computing and data-driven practices within the Anglo-American tradition, including discussions of the roles that ethics and biopolitics play within these histories. We will explore ways that privacy/security, algorithmic processes, computational environmental impacts, and design have exploited the most vulnerable while increasing affordances for the most privileged. We will also spend significant time learning about new data/computational justice initiatives and develop a robust understanding of how social justice issues like prison abolition, climate change, and equitable health outcomes are at the core of understanding computational cultures. No Computer Science or Data Science background is required, but the course will entail learning about some of the technical history within both fields. Similarly, there are no WGSS prerequisites for the cours but students will be responsibly for learning about anti-racist feminist and queer methods and insights.

[Source: ORC/Catalog, 08/25/2023]; Dist:SOC

In the Library's collections

You can use one of these subject headings to start your research in the library's online catalog:

Introductory reading(s)

Selected book title(s)

Other library resource(s)

Finding scholarly articles & journal title(s)

You can find scholarly literature for film and television studies and/or big data in a variety of journals. However, if you want to do targeted searching, you can use a subject specific database such as Film & Television Literature Index or ACM Digital Library. You can also use the search box at the top of the page.

Internet resource(s)

Citing and Tracking Your Bibliographic References

Use this guide to help you learn how to correctly cite and keep track of the references you find for your research.

Keeping up with Big Data journal literature

Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Big Data? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.

You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.

Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature

Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.

You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.