Cultures have long recorded and interpreted the facts and figures of their existence. Today, digital technologies make it possible to collect and store that data in massive amounts, while sophisticated processing methods mine this data to identify trends and predict behavior. At the same time, information as small as an individual vote in a national election, or a WebMD search, or a recommended song from a music streaming service can shape the way we see the world and ourselves. Data management, storytelling, and music communicate information in ways that can drive cultural revolutions. In virtually every industry and every corner of culture—from environmental science to journalism, from health care to entertainment—possessing that information confers enormous power. This privilege is hardly new, though it has assumed different guises and been mediated by different technologies over its long history. The keepers and interpreters of information can share it transparently or manipulate it; use it to answer pressing questions or weaponize it to oppress; invade personal privacy or maximize the public good. This cluster takes up the complex, often fraught relationship between information and power.
This cluster will be offered throughout 2021-23.
