Ambiguity, Ambivalence, and Activism: Data Organizing Inside the Institution

Investigations of data-centered efforts in advocacy and activism are often cast in terms of a narrative of opposition between grassroots activists working through and with data, and corporations or institutions whose actions data might expose. The boundaries are, however, not so distinct in practice...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inKrisis (Amsterdam, Netherland : 2000) Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 72 - 84
Main Authors Horgan, Leah, Dourish, Paul
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Krisis 29.04.2018
University of Groningen Press
Subjects
Activism
Activists
Ambiguity
Ambivalence
Big Data
Bureaucracy
Capitalism
Cities
civic tech
Collaboration
Conversation
data activism
Data processing
Data quality
Digital media
Ethnography
Fieldwork
Governance
Grass roots movement
Local government
Mass media
Organizational structure
Participant observation
Political activism
Political participation
Power
Public access
Public services
Quality of life
Radicalism
Resistance
smart cities
Social justice
Social media
Surveillance
Turner, Fred
urban governance
Values
United States > US
Chicago Illinois
California
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Summary:Investigations of data-centered efforts in advocacy and activism are often cast in terms of a narrative of opposition between grassroots activists working through and with data, and corporations or institutions whose actions data might expose. The boundaries are, however, not so distinct in practice. Indeed, one outcome of successful advocacy efforts for opening big data to the public is that the activists may find themselves drawn into the institutions they critique or view as impediments in order to actualize those efforts from the inside. Drawing on an ongoing ethnographic investigation of urban data initiatives inside city government, we explore the productive ambivalences of activism and advocacy that arise when those with data activist ideals find themselves operating within the government structure.
ISSN:1875-7103
1875-7103
DOI:10.21827/krisis.38.1.37183