DISCO CO(LAB)

DISCO CO(LAB) is a new series of inter-institutional collaborative research projects hosted by the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab at the University of Maryland.

Running from 2024-2027, DISCO CO(LAB) will fund and support research teams to develop digital humanities projects that center speculation and optimism about race and disability. Each project aims to produce outputs that bridge the gap between traditional academic research and community engaged digital projects (e.g., podcasts, digital maps, data visualizations, oral history projects).

Each DISCO CO(LAB) team will work together for an academic year and will be composed of an intergenerational group of scholars and creatives, inclusive of artists, industry workers, undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. DISCO CO(LAB) sessions are weekly and will operate in a hybrid format. Each research project will conclude with a multi-day convening for the team to finalize their project’s deliverables (e.g., conference presentations, public scholarship, journal articles, creative and interdisciplinary works).

The BCaT Lab plans to host the following DISCO CO(LAB) projects (topics subject to change):

  1. Beginning in Fall 2024: Black Homeplaces, a project that harnesses VR/AR to recreate the ever-changing sites of the Black homeplace and Black placemaking practices across the African diaspora. One of the central outputs of the project will be an interactive XR exhibition of an archetypical Black home, including oral histories, artistic renderings, essays and more. This collaboration will be led by Dr. Rianna Walcott, the Associate Director of the BCaT lab and an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland.

  2. Beginning in Winter 2025: Automation and Black Joy, a project which will study AI’s impact on youth and social media.

  3. Beginning in Fall 2026: Black Queer Soundscapes, a project that will trace legacies of cultural sound and produce a student-led podcast series.

The BCaT Lab is seeking collaborators from across the U.S. and beyond to participate in DISCO CO(LAB). Summer microgrants will be awarded for participation. For more information about DISCO CO(LAB) and to get involved, please visit the BCaT Lab website.