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Power, Language, and Access: The Role of Multilingualism in Digital Knowledge Production

Date
Tue December 3rd 2024, 12:00 - 1:15pm
Event Sponsor
Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis (CESTA)
Location
Building 160, Wallenberg Hall
450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 160, Stanford, CA 94305
Room 433A
 

Join us for a workshop seminar on "Global Approaches to Multilingual Digital Humanities and Data Practices",  on December 3rd, from 12:00 to 1:15 pm, featuring Professor Lorella Viola from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, for her presentation titled, "Power, Language, and Access: The Role of Multilingualism in Digital Knowledge Production". She will explore how power structures embedded in technology shape the production and accessibility of digital knowledge, focusing on the persistent dominance of monolingualism—particularly Anglocentrism. This dominance limits participation in digital knowledge creation, exacerbates societal inequalities, and risks cultural homogenization by alienating non-native speakers and underrepresenting diverse languages and histories. The presentation will argue for the critical role of multilingualism in digital research, showcasing examples from digital heritage, text mining, and social media. Through these case studies, attendees will gain insight into how multilingual approaches are transforming digital practices in the humanities and social sciences while navigating technical and cultural challenges. RSVP for lunch or to receive the Zoom link here.

This workshop is a part of the "Global Approaches to Multilingual Data Practices and Digital Humanities" sponsored by the Global Research Workshops by Stanford Global Studies.

About the Speaker

Dr Lorella Viola is Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities & Society at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In her research, she develops innovative digital humanities methodologies to investigate how power, latent assumptions and implicit ideologies are manifested through language and circulated in media and society, including digital heritage practices. She also researches the impact of the digital transformation of society on knowledge creation theory and practice.