The médialab at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po), in partnership with the Centre Internet et Société, will host an online seminar on June 2nd by Stanford University professor Angèle Christin. She will present her recent work and explain the necessary links between algorithms and ethnographic research.
Angèle Christin is an assistant professor in Stanford’s Department of Communication, as well as an affiliated faculty member in the Sociology Department and the Program in Science, Technology, and Society. She studies how algorithms and analysis transform professional values, expertise, and work practices.
In this seminar, Christin will present her argument that algorithms — which are often thought of as opaque “black boxes” — should be explicitly included in ethnographic research, and outlines three strategies for algorithmic ethnography. The first, algorithmic refraction, examines the resonance and effects of computational software on the people and institutions that use it. The second strategy, algorithmic comparison, uses a similarities and differences approach to identify the specific characteristics of algorithms. The third strategy, algorithmic triangulation, uses algorithms to collect rich qualitative data, and to help position oneself in the field.
The seminar will be held on Tuesday, June 2nd from 14h30-16h, and can be accessed via this Zoom link.
Source: Sciences Po médialab
