Description

UCLA’s Center for Critical Internet Inquiry was founded by Professors Sarah Roberts and Safiya Noble to nurture and support the development of the new field of Internet studies. The internet has been studied as a technology, as a business, as a communications modality; but it has only begun to be studied critically by humanists and social scientists as a social force and fact with profound implications for communities, for democracy, for the well-being of people. The Center seeks funding to continue to support fellowships for graduate students. The first cohort, supported by the Luce Foundation, have gone on to distinguished post-docs at Stanford and Michigan and are helping to build the nascent field. The fellowship experience—focused this year on “Internet Democracies”—comprises a virtual summer seminar, an in-person research workshop with visiting scholars, a public symposium, and a publication available to all.