Wow! eBook
The Datafied Society: Studying Culture through Data
Author(s): Mirko Tobias Schäfer (Editor), Karin Es (Editor)
- Publisher: Routledge
- Publication Date: February 21, 2017
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 268 pages
- ISBN-10: 9462981361
- ISBN-13: 9789462981362
Book Description
As machine-readable data comes to play an increasingly important role in everyday life, researchers find themselves with rich resources for studying society. The novel methods and tools needed to work with such data require not only new knowledge and skills, but also a new way of thinking about best research practices. This book critically reflects on the role and usefulness of big data, challenging overly optimistic expectations about what such information can reveal, introducing practices and methods for its analysis and visualisation, and raising important political and ethical questions regarding its collection, handling, and presentation.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"We all know - or should know by now - how extensively corporationssurveil our actions and analyze the data we leave behind. But we mustn't let our horror at the misuse of data dissuade us from considering how big data can aid us in our quest as scholars and changemakers tounderstand society, and to establish best and ethical practices in those pursuits. This is the first comprehensive look at the possibilitiesfor a humanist approach to big data. " Douglas Rushkoff, author of Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus and Program or Be Programmed
"
The Datafied Society. Studying Culture through Data providesan abundance of methodological tools and reflection. Through combininginteresting empirical case studies with sound theoretical reasoning,this interdisciplinary anthology with its excellent and diversecontributions is a milestone in the study of culture through data." Judith Simon, Co-editor Big Data and SocietyAbout the Author
Mirko Tobias Schäfer is assistant professor for new media and digital culture at the University of Utrecht and the author of Bastard Culture! How User Participation Transforms Cultural Production. Karin van Es is a lecturer for television and cross-media culture at the University of Amsterdam and the author of The Future of Live.
