We want to approach the question of ‘platform power’ (and the attempts to resist it) through three very different entry points and contexts. Ranging from platform-specific affordances, categorizations, and functionalities, we will talk about how platforms dictate and structure users’ practices, understandings, and imaginaries around the notions such as gender, identity, and the very purpose of these sociotechnical infrastructures.

Close Readings: Text, Object & Subject 

In this year’s seminar, we discuss the importance of close readings in relation to our objects of study, as well as our own position as academic researchers. What happens to the act of close reading when the “object” changes? How do close readings of novels differ from close reading interviews conducted during field work?