Workshop: Data in Social Context

The Data in Social Context (DiSC) workshop prepares Graduate Teaching Assistants at Virginia Tech to teach courses that emphasize an interdisciplinary approach of data analytics, computational skills, and critical thinking in the humanities and social sciences. This workshop addresses a key feature of the contemporary world: we live our lives increasingly as data, yet often we lack the integrated analytical skills necessary to understand the full implications of how connected and quantified our lives have become. This project thus responds to the compelling need for a new approach to integrating data acumen into humanities teaching and integrating humanities aptitudes and skills into teaching data analysis. Fall 2019 schedule is below, and more information is here. Summer 2019 workshop schedule is available here. Readings for summer workshop are here. Participants are here. Read more about the June 2019 workshop here.

Data in Social Context Workshop, Open to all graduate students, Fall 2019

Newman Library, Room 124

Wednesday, September 25, 12:30-2:00:

Presentation: Everything that Counts, Tom Ewing, Department of History

Thursday, October 10, 3:30-5:00: Presentations:

Algorithms at Work, Jessica Resor, Department of Human Development and Family Science

This is Only a Test: Designing Programmers, Roan Parrish, Department of Science, Technology, and Society

Wednesday, October 23, 12:30-2:30

Computational Systems and Big Data in Criminal Justice, Leanna Ireland

Predicting Elections, Tom Ewing

Thursday, November 7, 3:30-5:00

Data Ethics, Savannah Paige Murray

Computational Modeling, Social Policy, and Ethics, Mohammed Ba-Aoum

Wednesday, November 13, 12:30-2:30

Defining “Data” for Political and Ethical Critique, Emma Stamm

Big Data ≥ Big Brother? Tom Ewing