Shira Zilberstein

PhD Candidate, Sociology

I am a PhD candidate in sociology at Harvard University and a former Science and Technology Studies Fellow. My research focuses on cultural sociology, science and technology studies and organizations, as well as theory and methods. I am interested in the production, interpretation and evaluation of ideas and the dynamics between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic forms of knowledge in institutional and technical settings. My dissertation focuses on applied interdisciplinary research collaborations and the ways in which knowledge is put into practice to define and address social problems. You can read a feature article about my research here.


My work has been recognized by the National Science Foundation, the American Sociological Association, the Russell Sage Foundation, the Knight Foundation, and The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine amongst others.


Publications

In print

Zilberstein, S.,Sanchez, M., Ayala-Hurtado, E. and D. Robey. Forthcoming. “The Self in Action: Narrating Agentic Moments.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences.

Zilberstein, S. 2024. "Ethical Dilemmas and Collaborative Resolutions in Machine Learning Research for Healthcare.” Socius 10.

Zilberstein, S. 2024. “Models of Generating Cultural Authority: Academics and Journalists on a Digital Platform.” Poetics 102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2024.101871 

Boag, W., A. Hasan, J.Y. Kim, M. Revoir, M. Nichols, W. Ratliff, S. Zilberstein, C.O'Brien, D. Tart, J. Theiling, M.A. Fuchs, T. Brown, Z. Samad, Z. Hoodbhoy, M. Ali, N.S. Khan, M. Gao, M. Patel, S. Balu, Dr Mark Sendak. 2024. "The Algorithm Journey Map: A tangible approach to Implementing AI solutions in Healthcare.” npj Digital Medicine.

Zilberstein, S., Lamont, M., and M. Sanchez. 2023. "Recreating a Plausible Future: Combing Cultural Repertoires in Unsettled Times.” Sociological Science 10. https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v10-11-348/ 

Zilberstein, S. 2022. ”Developing Artificial Intelligence For Good: Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations and the Making of Ethical AI.” In Proceedings of the 2022 AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society (AIES’22), August 1–3, 2022, Oxford, United Kingdom. ACM, New York, NY, USA. https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3514094.3539516 

Sanchez, M., M. Lamont, and S. Zilberstein. 2022. ”How American College Students Understand Social Resilience during Covid and the Movement for Racial Justice: Toward a Processual Approach.” Social Science and Medicine. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622001964 

Halliday, T., S. Zilberstein and W. Espeland. 2021. “Basic Legal Freedoms: An International Legal Complex and the Deviant Case of China.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 17(1). https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-111620-013613 

Zilberstein, S. 2019. “Space Making as Artistic Practice: The Relationship between Grassroots Art Organizations and the Political Economy of Urban Development.” City and Community 18(4): 1142-1161. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cico.12458 


In progress

Zilberstein, S. "Organizational Constraints on a Problem-Solving Science."

Zilberstein, S. “Machine Learning Research for Health Equity: The Relationship Between Systemic and Scientific Problems.”

Current Research

My dissertation research focuses on the creation of machine learning models for healthcare. The research raises questions about how the cultural logics and organization of scientific and technological production influences the ways in which researchers define social problems, evaluate technological solutions, and put knowledge into practice. I also work on related projects with The Duke Institute for Health Innovation.

Drawing on 78 interviews with academics and journalists who write digital newsletters, I study how knowledge professionals develop cultural authority when working outside of the dominant institutions in their fields that traditionally structured career success. The research shows how basis of cultural authority and strategies of information generation change along with the sociotechnical means of and media for producing, distributing and accessing information. 

I work on collaborative projects about how people respond to uncertainty and understand agency with Professor Robert Sampson as part of the Project on Human Development in Chicago, as well as on a project selected as part of the Russell Sage Foundation American Voices Project.