PhD course at the IT University: Socialising Big Data
Lecturers
Adrian Mackenzie, Lancaster University, Velux Visiting Professor at the ITU in 2014
Ruth McNally, Lancaster University
Penny Harvey, University of Manchester
Evelyn Ruppert, Goldsmiths College, University of London
Organisers
Brit Ross Winthereik, Technologies in Practice, IT University of Copenhagen
Louise Torntoft Jensen, Technologies in Practice, IT University of Copenhagen
Dates of the course
10-11 June 2014
Venue
IT University, Rued Langaards Vej 7, 2300 Copenhagen S
Course description
This advanced interdisciplinary PhD workshop will involve ‘socialising’ Big Data in two ways. First it will comprise training in the concept and conduct of ‘collaboratories’ as a social science method of working with practitioners not as informants or users but as co-producers of concepts and knowledge. The workshop will do this through illustrations and discussions of collaboratories that have been conducted with practitioners who work with Big Data in three different contexts: bioscience, national statistics and waste management. In addition to attending to how these collaboratories worked methodologically, the workshop will explore their substantive discussions and findings concerning the range of meanings and the problems, risks and potentials of Big Data across the different practical settings. In this way the workshop will involve both training in how to ask critical questions about Big Data that can be taken up in relation to other substantive and practical contexts as well as the collaboratory as a social science method.
Program
Tuesday 10
11-12 Public Lecture on Big Data
12-13 Lunch for workshop participants in canteen
13-17 Lectures and group exercises
18- Dinner for participants and lecturers
Wednesday 11
9-10.30 Exercises
10.30-12 Student presentations and discussion
12-13 Lunch
13-14 Sum up and evaluation
Prerequisites
Social science/humanities background/interests (STS, anthropology, sociology, media or cultural studies).
Exam
Students will prepare and hold an oral presentation.
Credits
2 ECTS.
Participants
Max number of participants: 20
Participation is granted on the basis of a selection aiming for a varied group of students.
The course is free of charge.
To sign up for the course, please send a short description of your PhD project (including information on how far into it you are), your institutional affiliation, and your motivation for participating in the course (1 page) to Brit Ross Winthereik (brwi@itu.dk) before March 15.
Readings will be distributed shortly after notifications of acceptance have been sent out.