LEAD PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Lisa (she/her/hers) is the Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor in the Department of American Culture, and the founding Director of the Digital Studies Institute, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Since 1994, Nakamura has written books and articles on digital bodies, race, and gender in online environments, on toxicity in video game culture, and the many reasons that Internet research needs ethnic and gender studies. These books include, Race After the Internet (co-edited with Peter Chow-White, Routledge, 2011); Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet (Minnesota, 2007); Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet (Routledge, 2002); and Race in Cyberspace (co-edited with Beth Kolko and Gil Rodman, Routledge, 2000). In November 2019, Nakamura gave a TED NYC talk about her research called “The Internet is a Trash Fire. Here’s How to Fix It."

Website

CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Rayvon Fouché (he/him/his) holds a joint appointment as Professor of Communication Studies and Professor in the Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrative Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. He authored or edited Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003), Appropriating Technology: Vernacular Science and Social Power (University of Minnesota Press, 2004), Technology Studies (Sage Publications, 2008), the 4th Edition of the Handbook of Science & Technology Studies (MIT Press, 2016), and Game Changer: The Technoscientific Revolution in Sports (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017). He previously held faculty appointments in the Science and Technology Studies Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the History Department and the Information Trust Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the American Studies program in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue University, and was a postdoctoral fellow in African & African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Most recently he served as Division Director of Social and Economic Sciences within the Directorate of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the National Science Foundation.

Website

CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Remi (they/them/theirs) is Associate Professor of Digital Studies and English, and Associate Director of the Digital Studies Institute, at the University of Michigan. Their book, Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness, was awarded the 2017 MLA First Book Prize, the 2019 CCCC Lavender Rhetorics Book Award for Excellence in Queer Scholarship, and the 2019 Rhetoric Society of America Book Award. They are currently at work on a second book project about disability, digital rhetoric, surveillance, and (a)sociality, tentatively titled Crip Data. Active in the neurodiversity movement, they have previously served on the boards of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) and the Autism National Committee (AutCom).

Website

CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Catherine Knight Steele (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland - College Park, where she directs the Black Communication and Technology Lab (BCaT) and the Digital Studies in Art & Humanities graduate certificate program. Her research focuses on race, gender, and media, specifically emphasizing Black culture, digital communication, and technology. She moves beyond examinations of representation in the media to consider the relationship between resistance and joy as technologies of liberation. Catherine’s research on the Black blogosphere, digital discourses of resistance and joy, and digital Black feminism has been published in such journals as Social Media + Society, Information, Communication and Society, Feminist Media Studies, and Rhetoric Society Quarterly. Her award-winning book, Digital Black Feminism (NYU Press 2021), examines the relationship between Black women and technology as a centuries-long gendered and racial project in the U.S. Her co-authored second book, Doing Black Digital Humanities with Radical Intentionality was published in 2023 with Routledge. Catherine is a 2024-26 Just Tech Fellow working on the "Automating Black Joy" project, which critically examines the relationship between A.I., education, and Black joy.

Website

DISCO NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR

Ann Smith (she/her/hers) joined DSI as the DISCO Network Administrator in January 2024. She holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at UM. Outside of work, she loves to travel, enjoy good food, and spend time with friends and family.

Contact: annsmith@umich.edu

DISCO NETWORK PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Cherice Chan (she/they) joined the Digital Studies Institute to serve as the DISCO Network Program Coordinator in 2023. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2022 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Anthropology. Prior to coming to the DSI, Cherice served as the project coordinator and youth advisory board director for a research initiative about racial socialization processes among Asian American youth. Her research interests include the racial socialization of youth of color, racialized experiences of Asian Americans, and mainstream narratives about race, ethnicity, and culture. Outside of work, Cherice enjoys traveling, reading, collecting trinkets, and grocery shopping.

Contact: chericec@umich.edu

DISCO GRANT INITIATIVES PROGRAM COORDINATOR

Giselle Mills (she/they) currently serves as the DISCO Grant Initiatives Program Coordinator. She joined the DSI in May of 2022 as the Marketing and Communications Assistant for the Digital IDEAS Summer Institute and later became an Undergraduate Student Writer for the DSI Newsletter. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction and High Honors in History, the Sweetland Minor in Writing, and a minor in Russian Language, Literature, and Culture. Following graduation, she served as the Program Assistant for Digital IDEAS 2023. Her scholarly interests include the history of fashion and textiles, archaeology, gender studies, and zoology. Outside of work, Giselle enjoys film photography, knitting, and poetry.

Contact: gimills@umich.edu

DISCO NETWORK PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Raquel Escobar (they/them) joined the Digital Studies Institute to serve as the DISCO Network Program Assistant in 2023. They graduated from the University of Arizona in 2020 with a B.A. in Gender and Women's Studies, and they were a Women's and Gender Studies/English PhD Student at the University of Michigan, where they worked with Dr. Remi Yergeau as a DAF Lab Graduate Scholar. Their scholarly interests include digital health apps, feminist and disability justice frameworks for eating disorders, and digital disability culture. Outside of work, they enjoy practicing ceramics, reading comic books, and listening to jazz crooners.

Contact: raquele@umich.edu

BCAT LAB ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

Rianna Walcott is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland, and a former DISCO Network Postdoctoral Fellow. An alumna of the London Arts and Humanities Partnership (LAHP), Dr. Walcott earned her PhD in Digital Humanities at King's College London for her research on Black (and British) communication practices across social media platforms with different demographics, and how different social network service affordances influence how Black users interact. She combines digital research, Black feminist praxis, decolonial studies, arts and culture, and mental health advocacy in her work. Dr. Walcott founded projectmyopia.com, a LAHP-funded digital humanities and arts project that promotes inclusivity in academia and decolonised curricula, and was co-editor of 'The Colour of Madness', an anthology about mental health inequities faced by people of colour in Britain. In the time left over, she moonlights as a professional jazz singer.

BCAT LAB GRADUATE FELLOW

Andrew Lowe is a 2nd-year Ph.D. student in the Communication department at the University of Maryland, College Park. Andrew joined the BCaT Lab in 2023 as an undergraduate research assistant. Currently, Andrew is a Graduate Fellow in the Black Communication and Technology Lab, and a Graduate Fellow for the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program. He is a cultural studies, media studies, and digital humanities scholar who uses critical cultural rhetorical theories to explore contemporary digital communities, and media artifacts. He is currently steeped in video game studies, exploring how representation and ideologies are performed through video game mechanics and narratives. He is pursuing a Digital Studies in the Arts and Humanities certificate, through which he is excited to further his knowledge in the fields of game studies and digital ecologies.

BCAT LAB GRADUATE FELLOW

Alisa Hardy is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland. She has served as a fellow for the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab since 2022. Her research integrates the study of critical-cultural rhetoric, digital media and technology studies, and Black feminism. Hardy earned a masters degree in Communication with a Rhetorical Leadership Concentration from the University of Wisconsin-Milkwaukee She also has received the Digital Studies in Arts and Humanities certificate and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies certificate from the University of Maryland. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family, bike riding, and caring for her two cats.

BCAT LAB UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Roshida Herelle (she/they) is an interdisciplinary creative who joined the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab as an Undergraduate Assistant in February 2024. They plan on graduating in 2025 with their Bachelor of Arts in Technology and Information Design from the University of Maryland. Their academic work focuses on how design and technology can be used to create social impact initiatives that uplift marginalized communities. Her most recent work is The Place Keeps Score, a collaborative zine that examines the ways that place can shape BIPOC queer identities. Before joining the BCaT Lab, she served as Design Co-Director for Technica: the largest hackathon for underrepresented genders in tech. Outside of work, she loves listening to soul and reggae music, walking on nature trails, and going thrifting!

BCAT LAB UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Arianna Meza (Ari, She/Her) joined the BcaT Lab in Fall 2024 for their Social Media Undergraduate role. She is majoring in Communications with a focus on Public Relations and is on track to graduate in Spring 2025. In addition, she is pursuing a Master’s in Management through the Smith Business School. Ari has gained valuable experience through internships with 740 Project, Amtrak, and the Recording Industry Association of America. She also holds leadership roles as Treasurer of the Public Relations Student Society of America and Vice President of the Maryland Music Business Society. Currently, she serves as the Instagram Manager and works as an Academic Consultant for the Oral Communication Center.

DAF LAB POSTODOCTORAL FELLOW

David Adelman (he/him/his) is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Digital Accessible Futures lab at the University of Michigan. His research interests center disability and crip studies, with a particular emphasis on disability media studies, digital disability cultures, disability film studies, and critical sexuality studies. Through an interdisciplinary crip studies/feminist lens, he pursues questions which emerge at the intersection of power, culture, technology, identity, and desire. His recent dissertation, “Ambivalent Pleasures: Pleasure, Desire, Authenticity, and the Production of Value in Online Disability Cultures,” examines how discourses of “desirable disability” manifest in cultural productions and Internet publics. This project traces the circulation and intensification of such discourse in popular culture across a range of audiovisual material, exploring the neoliberal commodification of identity politics that occurs and, concomitantly, is contested, online. He also maintains an artistic practice which centers experimental video and remix as a means to explore disability culture, aesthetics, and politics.

DAF LAB RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Bio coming soon.

DAF LAB RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Sarah Hughes (she/her) received her PhD in English & Education at the University of Michigan. Her research interests center digital rhetorics, gender and discourse, gaming studies, writing pedagogy, and environmental writing. She has taught Developmental, First-Year, and Upper-Level Writing courses at U-M and various community colleges and universities in Ann Arbor and Chicago. She has served as a Graduate Student Research Assistant with the English Department Writing Program and a Sweetland Digital Rhetoric Collaborative Fellow at U-M, as well as a Communications Fellow with the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor. Her dissertation project explores women’s discursive practices for reclaiming space in online gaming ecologies

DAF LAB RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Lise Lao (she/they) received her Masters in English at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include queer and disabled online sociality, digital affect, surveilled subjectivities, queerness and disability in science fiction, mediation and the communicative body, and techno-orientalism. They taught first-year writing under the English Department Writing Program and have worked as a research assistant under Dr. Yergeau.

DAF LAB RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Pratiksha Thangam Menon (she/they) is a PhD Candidate in Communication and Media program at the University of Michigan, and research assistant at the Digital Accessible Futures lab. She is a media, cultural studies, and digital humanities scholar whose analytical perspectives are informed by feminist, anti-racist, and postcolonial frameworks. Her dissertation examines the mainstreaming of supremacist ideologies through the circulation of online humor, with a specific focus on Hindutva and White supremacy. Pratiksha’s recent public-facing scholarship can be found on JSTOR Daily; she has also worked on the Library Diversity Council-award winning Anti-Racism Toolkit Team, and has collaboratively authored the DEI section of a forthcoming National Humanities Alliance report on engaging historically underrepresented students in the humanities.

DAF LAB RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Eric Whitmer (they/he) is an interdisciplinary musician, artist, and scholar interested in the intersections of music, morality, and community. Eric performs as the percussionist in Sono Trio and as the resident carillonist for Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. They are a Ph.D. Pre-Candidate in Musicology with Historical Emphasis at the School of Music, Theater, and Dance, University of Michigan. Their musicological work focuses on ways that morality gets institutionalized through processes of philanthropy, education, and care practices. Additionally, Eric is a member of the Digital Accessible Futures Lab at the University of Michigan and regularly pursues research related to disability studies and activism. In their limited spare time, Eric can be found baking some new and challenging pastry, behind a camera, taking a portrait of a friend, or on a paddleboard in one of Michigan’s many great (pun intended) lakes.

DAF LAB UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Tess Carichner (she/her) is a sophomore at the University of Michigan student pursuing a major in nursing and a minor in global health. Her primary interest is how ableism in healthcare settings perpetuated against neurodivergent people (particularly Autistics and those with OCD and/or ADHD) permeates other institutions and social norms. Tess aspires to become a researcher that merges the fields of disability studies and nursing science to reframe disability in healthcare education by addressing past and present abuses of the disability community. As a Women and Gender Summer Fellow and Research Scholar at the University of Michigan Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP), Tess is authoring a literature review that aims to educate healthcare professionals on the experiences of neurodivergent women and gender diverse people. She is the founder of Disability Nursing Association, an Eisenberg Family Depression Center Student Advisory Board Member, a Sweetland Writing Center Student Advisory Board member (accessibility consultant), and a member of the School of Nursing Foundational Course Initiative (accessibility consultant).

HAT LAB GRADUATE PROGRAM ASSISTANT

June Mia is a Communication Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). She holds a B.A. in Journalism with an emphasis in Public Relations from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a minor in Spanish. She received her M.S. in Public Communication and Technology from the Department of Journalism at Colorado State University. In 2021, she published her first book chapter entitled DJ’s Gig: Affective Hip Hop Culture and Affordances of Participatory Platforms during a Global Pandemic in Sustaining Black Music and Culture during COVID-19 #Verzuz and Club Quarantine, which was edited by Dr. Niya Pickett Miller. June has also held the position of Managing Editor for the academic journal Gender + Society. Additionally, she teaches public speaking at UIC and communication courses as adjunct faculty at Loyola University Chicago. June's research interests include streaming & social networking sites, participatory platforms, gender, race, and policy. Her dissertation addresses the affordances of Twitch.tv and examines Hip Hop DJs' technocultural participation and labor. She has presented her research at academic conferences such as The Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (TPRC), Midwest Association of Public Opinion Research (MAPOR), World Social Science Association (WSSA), Social Media + Society, Popular Culture Association (PCA), and the Association for Internet Researchers (AoIR).

HAT LAB GRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

Hi, I'm Bright. I am a 5th year PhD candidate in the Sports Department at the University of South-Eastern Norway. When I am not pretending to be buried in research duties, I am usually at home minding my business. Fun fact: I work as a football agent too!

As a PhD candidate in the final year of my program at the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), my research focuses on the use of self-tracking technologies in Ghanaian fitness spaces. This interest has led me to explore the near-exclusive emphasis on quantification at the expense of qualitative elements of fitness practices. My soon-to-be-published study is based on six months of fieldwork in Ghana, with extensive primary-source data in the form of interviews, field notes, and participant observation. Beyond my graduate work, I am also a member of the Norwegian Research School on Digitalisation, Culture and Society and the USN lead on the Nordplus project on Digitalisation in the Coaching Process across Nordic-Baltic countries.

HAT LAB GRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

Hi, I am Jonathan Givan, a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in Science and Technology Studies at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute from Chelsea, Alabama. When I am not dodging responsibilities or forgetting to submit paperwork, you can catch me bouldering at my local climbing gyms or obsessing over my well-seasoned cast iron.

As a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at RPI and a researcher in the HAT Lab at Northwestern, I focus on the relationship between music production, knowledge production, and cultural studies. My research looks at the Akai Midi Production Center and how its innovative adoption by Black Hip Hop producers reframed popular conceptions around the technology. Using mixed methods research, I study the history of the MPC within Hip Hop, the individuals and communities that solidified its popularity, and how corporate entities responded to the success of the MPC within Black music making. The ultimate goals of my research are to make accessible resources that display the innovative and diverse thought processes behind Hip Hop music and to help develop more inclusive and accessible spaces for communal music education.

HAT LAB GRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

Karl Bullock is PhD candidate in Rhetoric, Media, and Publics housed in the Department of Communication Studies. He is a recipient of the Black Metropolis Graduate Assistantship, which is designed to increase capacity at Chicagoland’s Black archives and support projects that preserve and amplify Black histories and legacies. Karl is currently inventorying, digitizing, and assessing Rebuild Foundation’s collections on the South Side of Chicago.

My research focuses on the sports arena as a protest site for Black athletes in America. I am interested in the strategies utilized by Black athletes, historically and in the present, to engage in social and political movements to articulate the reclamation of their humanity, fight for civil liberties, and as a form of civic engagement.

HAT LAB GRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

I’m Catalina, a 3rd-year Ph.D. student in Communication Studies at Northwestern. Outside of research, I enjoy binge-watching TV, painting, walking by the lake, and talking with my family in Chile. I strive to conduct research that benefits marginalized communities and creates tangible change.

As a Ph.D. student in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University my research centers on the role of media technologies in the lives of marginalized and racialized communities. Specifically, I focus on uncovering the reasons these communities engage with technology, how they perceive it, and the intricate dynamics of their online interactions. I use a mixed-method research approach to reveal the intricate ways in which these groups access, use, and (re)appropriate technologies. My work aims to shed light on the importance of digital inclusion and the empowerment of underrepresented voices in the media technologies landscape with the ultimate goal of influencing technology design and policy to better serve and represent marginalized communities.

HAT LAB GRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

Hey, this is Genius Amaraizu, 1st year PhD researcher in the HAT lab at Northwestern. When you don't find me engaged in lab research, look outside, I'm making some videos for YouTube and other social media, or hanging out with friends, or just watching some documentaries.

As a Ph.D. researcher in the HAT lab at Northwestern University my research focuses on Technoculture; working between digital humanities’ and digital cultures’ intersection with contemporary democracy and developmental practices, especially as it concerns media, migration and social justice. My research primarily investigates how digital technologies are embraced as solutions within the human migration ecosystem, and captures the intersectional relatedness of marginalization and under-representation with technological developments, as well as scientific chauvinism.

HAT LAB UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

Hi! I'm Leila Dhawan, a sophomore and researcher in the HAT lab at Northwestern. When I'm not researching, I'm probably stopping a stranger to pet their dog or waiting in line for coffee. You can tell I'm from New Jersey because I walk fast and often complain about the bagels in Chicago. I'm involved in various campus initiatives, like marketing for the Northwestern Dance Marathon and the UNITY fashion show. I also work as a graphic designer and freelance writer for North by Northwestern Magazine and as a graphic designer for Northwestern Admissions.

Right now, I'm researching technology refusal with Professor Fouché. This topic intrigues me because of its huge impact on society and how it affects our self-perception. By understanding why some people push back against new technologies, I hope to gain insights into my own experiences and the broader societal effects. This research will help me in my future career in PR, marketing, and graphic design, giving me a unique perspective on human behavior. My ultimate goal is to graduate from Northwestern with a dual degree in Communications and Psychology, and then pursue an MBA. I love working with people and believe that understanding them is key to being effective and empathetic in my work. I'm passionate about appreciating and leveraging the unique qualities of individuals to enhance my work and build meaningful connections.

HAT LAB UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT COLLABORATOR

Hi, my name is Chloe Sharpe! I’m a first-year undergraduate research assistant in the HAT lab at Northwestern where I collaborate with Aria Halliday and Rayvon Fouché on The Black Woman’s Guide to Electric Vehicles project.  Outside of research, you can find me diving head-first into the deep end… literally! Despite my fear of heights, I have been a competitive diver for 8 years! 

As a first-year undergraduate research assistant in the HAT lab at Northwestern University, my research delves into the prerequisites for building a more equitable society. I’m driven by a deep interest in sustainable solutions and equity in technology which makes my work with Dr. Aria Halliday and Dr. Fouché, on Black Feminists freedom and Electric Vehicle usage and culture not only meaningful but also deeply fulfilling. I am committed to exploring how technology can be harnessed to create a more just and inclusive world, a mission that shapes both my current research and my future career aspirations.

SEARCH ENGINES FACULTY LEAD

Jeff Nagy is an Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Critical Data Studies in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University. Previously, he was a DISCO Network Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan, where he collaborated with scholars, artists, and policymakers to envision and build anti-racist and anti-ableist technological futures. He currently serves as faculty lead for Search Engines, a programming series at the University of Michigan centered around the arts, emerging technology, and social justice. He is a historian of computing and AI focused on the intersections between that history with disability and psychological and psychiatric science. He holds a PhD in Communication from Stanford University. His research has appeared in Just Tech, New Media & Society, Technology & Culture, and elsewhere.

GRADUATE PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Bio coming soon.

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Atticus joined the Digital Studies Institute as a program assistant and graphic designer for Search Engines in 2023. Currently in their final year of undergrad, they are leaving with a degree in Film, Television, and Media and a Minor in Writing through the Sweetland Center. His academic work has focused primarily on technologically mediated social crises, with a particular emphasis on queer liberation and extremist misogyny. As a creator, they are obsessed with multimedia storytelling and playing with genre conventions; the most recent evidence of this can be found in his senior thesis Psycho at Large, a webcomic and critical intervention theorizing sex and gender in contemporary slasher films (forthcoming May 2024).

UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM ASSISTANT

Cecilia joined the Digital Studies Institute as a program assistant and graphic designer for Search Engines in 2023. She lead the visual development of Search Engine’s zine, Search History, through her creation of fold-out promotional handouts and 3D assets for its digital and print publications. She is in her third year of undergraduate study pursuing a triple major in English, German, and Translation as well as a minor in Digital Studies. Her academic interests center on language, gender, and digital culture, particularly the intersection of identity and online presence. She looks forward to beginning thesis work on these topics in her upcoming senior year.