Hi all,

I'd like to take this opportunity to highlight an open panel looking at the intersection of humanitarianisms (broadly defined) and ongoing STS research that will occur at 4S 2025 in Seattle later this year. If interested - please consider submitting an abstract for our open panel! Detailed information is below - 4S will be accepting papers until January 31st, here (ours is panel

73). Circulating

broadly is welcome.

Best, Daniel Kryger

4S Open Panel (#73)

Co-Organizers: Daniel Kryger, University of Washington; Roda Siad, McGill University; Jenna Harb, Australian National University; Alphoncina Lyamuya, University of Southern California; Nai Lee Kalema, University College of London

Title: Digital Governance and Data Politics in Humanitarian Contexts

Abstract:

In response to growing levels of global displacement, politicization of aid, and the decline in funding humanitarian actors have increasingly turned to technology and data-driven decision-making to assist with programming, refugee management, and governance. This lies in tandem with an emerging body of literature that examines the intersections of science and technology studies and crisis. STS lenses have been applied to refugee studies, disaster studies, security studies, and critical humanitarianism. By revealing the materialities and everyday practices constitutive of crisis response, scholars have contributed novel insights to existing understanding of the power dynamics and politics within humanitarian aid systems.

This panel seeks to bring together scholars from across disciplines to explore the use of emerging technologies and data in humanitarian governance and settings. We invite empirical and theoretical contributions that explore questions such as: How do particular humanitarian interventions incorporate algorithmic and other novel computational systems in their work, and to what consequences? How do new and existing data practices (re)structure knowledge production and epistemic communities in crisis settings? How are these technologies and data-driven practices understood and experienced by refugees and other displaced communities? In what ways do refugees and other forcibly displaced communities exercise agency and use data to empower themselves? What are the ethical implications of using data to track, monitor, and manage refugees and other humanitarian populations ? By grounding theoretical discussions in real-world case studies, this panel aims to unravel the politics and ethical issues embedded in crisis data and the implications of its circulation through humanitarian governance. We also welcome contributions that consider the historical and colonial dimensions of humanitarian data collection methods.

Daniel Kryger (he/him/his) Ph.D. Candidate

whatsapp: +1.321.209.2767

email: kryger@uw.edu

Website, LinkedIn, Calendly

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