As the myriad forms of technology we use every day collect information on our every click, feminist researchers and activists have persistently interrogated the accumulation of big data as a site of power. In Winter 2022, Associate Teaching Professor Regina Yung Lee launched a new course that introduces students to this emergent field, which critiques data science in relation to bias, discrimination, exploitation, surveillance, and carcerality, while also creating new platforms and practices that strive for algorithmic justice.
GWSS 202: Introduction to Critical Feminist Data Studies begins with the proposition that data studies and feminist thought are not just complementary but necessary to each other. As Prof. Lee’s course description asserts, “Simply put, data is political—but thinking, analyzing, and using data as such is still a revolutionary act. Feminist thought relies on lived experiences from many standpoints, often represented as data, while data needs feminist thought for clear and equitable interpretation and translation into policy, institutional formation, and everyday language.” Course units—Data in the Body, Data in the House, and Data in the World—guide students in analyzing historical and contemporary data and reexamining their purposes at multiple scales.
When a student in the course petitioned to have it count toward UW’s interdisciplinary Data Science Minor, the director of the program recognized it as an important addition to the Minor and reached out to Prof. Lee to request inclusion of her course. In Winter 2023, she will teach GWSS 202 in a revised format that will bring together students with diverse interests in data to embark upon a feminist exploration of our own everyday datafication.
Regina Lee’s pioneering course at UW also paved the way for the department to hire a new faculty member to help us develop breadth and depth in this important new area.
RELATED RESOURCE:
In May 2022, the UW Libraries gathered for Privacy Week to discuss Academic Surveillance & the Big Data Economy. The proceedings are documented on this library page, which includes links to feminist and LGBTQ+ privacy and security guides.