#HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice
NetSI Speaker Series
Brooke Foucault Welles
Professor
Past Talk
Thursday
Apr 8, 2021
Watch video
12:00 pm
Virtual
177 Huntington Ave.
11th floor
Online
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The proliferation of social media has given rise to widespread study and speculation about the impact of digital technologies on politics, activism, and social change. Key among these debates is the role social media play in shaping the contemporary public sphere, and by proxy, our societies. Maligned by some as “slacktivism,” I will argue social media platforms such as Twitter create unique opportunities for often-excluded voices to challenge the terms of public debate. Using the evidence from Twitter hashtag networks such as #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, I will demonstrate how hashtag activism complements other forms of activism to change the terms of mainstream public debates about race and gender justice in the United States.

This talk is based on my book #HashtagActivism (co-authored with Sarah J. Jackson and Moya Bailey), which is available for free download from MIT Press direct: https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/4597/HashtagActivismNetworks-of-Race-and-Gender-Justice

About the speaker
About the speaker

Brooke Foucault Welles is a Professor of Communication Studies in the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD). She is also Associate Dean of Research in CAMD and the PhD Program Director for the Network Science PhD Program at NetSI. Her research examines how social networks shape behavior, including how individuals identify resources within their social networks and leverage them to achieve personal and organizational goals.