[{"id":257,"date":"2026-11-11T16:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T21:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=257"},"modified":"2026-11-11T16:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T21:30:11","slug":"nca-conference-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/nca-conference-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"National Communication Association (NCA) 112th Annual Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention continues to be a leading platform for advancing communication scholarship. By bringing together scholars, educators, and students from across the country to share research, exchange ideas, and connect with others in the field of communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We are proud to have our faculty and students participate in this national conference, showcasing their research, engaging with fellow scholars, and contributing to important conversations in the field!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Sessions featuring our faculty and students:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"263\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/1-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/1-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/1-660x825.jpg 660w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/1-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/1.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/2-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/2-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/2-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/2-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/2-660x825.jpg 660w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/11\/2.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention continues to be a leading platform for advancing communication scholarship. By bringing together scholars, educators, and students from across the country to share research, exchange ideas, and connect with others in the field of communication. We are proud to have our faculty and students participate in this national\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/nca-conference-2026\/\">Read More: National Communication Association (NCA) 112th Annual Convention &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":223,"date":"2026-11-05T11:03:01","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T16:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=223"},"modified":"2026-11-11T10:48:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T15:48:46","slug":"first-semester-project-into-nca-presentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/first-semester-project-into-nca-presentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine Co-Authors (converting a class&#8211;&gt;pro. research paper)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/auvoices.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/NCA-2026-Conference-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">What&#8217;s the magic recipe to transform a class project into a professional research presentation? In this post, one AU professor has some secrets&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">This month, a single project with <mark style=\"background-color:#8ed1fc\" class=\"has-inline-color\">nine (!) student co-authors<\/mark> will appear in New Orleans at the annual conference for National Communication Association (NCA). NCA is one of the most important research conferences in our field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Their topic: <strong>&#8220;Imagining AI Citizenship: Analyzing Public Comments on America\u2019s AI Action Plan<\/strong>.&#8221; It&#8217;s a fascinating study of technological imaginaries based on the coding of public comments. Their abstract describes it as, <em>&#8220;In developing America\u2019s AI Action Plan, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OTSP) issued a request for information in early 2025, seeking public comments from various groups regarding the development of AI technologies in the U.S. Using the concept of technological imaginaries and a mixed methods approach, this study examines over 10,000 public comments submitted to the OTSP, comparing them with the vision of AI policy outlined in the action plan document.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">It all began in Professor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/butkowsk.cfm\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/butkowsk.cfm\">Chelsea Butkowski<\/a> class on Research Methods in 2025. From the professor&#8217;s perspective: \u201cI&#8217;ve been doing these projects with students in the research methods class for the past couple of years. I find it extremely rewarding to work with students who are starting out in their <strong>first semester <\/strong>and take them through publication and presentation of a major project, and to see how they grow and the insights they bring from their other core classes and theoretical classes they take. And how they <strong>bring everything together<\/strong>. I am so excited to present at <strong>NCA<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Founded in 1914, NCA brings together researchers, educators, students, and professionals who study how people communicate. Each year, NCA hosts an Annual Convention where scholars and students present their research, share ideas, and connect with others in the field. The conference provides students with an opportunity to share their work with a national academic audience and gain experience presenting research outside the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>How do students see it?<\/strong> In the words from a second year PhD student, \u201cIt has been exciting to see the project evolve from a class project to now working towards submitting to a journal. Everyone is so supportive of sharing new ideas and considering different ways of thinking which makes the process really enjoyable and intellectually interesting.\u201d &#8211; Kenzie Larson<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>magic recipe<\/strong> is visible in the student trajectory. As one student put it, &#8220;My cohort included MA and PhD students, and in the summer we continued the class project to write the findings section. Every two weeks, the group comes together to review our separate contributions. I was surprised how well our writing blends together, because that is not always the case. That alignment is rare and my guess is that it comes from working together over an extended period of time, from research design to analysis and now in the writing. We have a great understanding of what we&#8217;re trying to define &#8211; in this case, work around the &#8216;technological imaginary&#8217; as a way to critique AI policy.&#8221; &#8211; Eunice Kim<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What&#8217;s the magic recipe to transform a class project into a professional research presentation? In this post, one AU professor has some secrets&#8230; This month, a single project with nine (!) student co-authors will appear in New Orleans at the annual conference for National Communication Association (NCA). NCA is one of the most important research\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/first-semester-project-into-nca-presentation\/\">Read More: Nine Co-Authors (converting a class&#8211;&gt;pro. research paper) &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":224,"date":"2026-10-22T14:21:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T19:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=224"},"modified":"2026-11-11T10:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T15:49:11","slug":"faculty-promotions-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/faculty-promotions-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Promotions 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/auvoices.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dean-Marnel-and-Faculty-photo.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We are very proud of our 2026 faculty promotions: Profs. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/braddock.cfm\">Kurt Braddock<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/susca.cfm\">Margot Susca<\/a> (in photo at center right and far right, respectively) both obtained <strong>tenure<\/strong> and were promoted to <strong>Associate<\/strong> Professor; and Prof. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/adrienne.cfm\">Adrienne Massanari<\/a> (at left) was promoted to <strong>Full<\/strong> Professor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">All three work with our PhD students in the School of Communication (SOC). They are pictured here with our Dean, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/profiles\/faculty\/mnilesgoins.cfm\">Marnel Niles Goins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">We greatly look forward to their ongoing mentoring, teaching and scholarship in our intellectual community here in SOC. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are very proud of our 2026 faculty promotions: Profs. Kurt Braddock and Margot Susca (in photo at center right and far right, respectively) both obtained tenure and were promoted to Associate Professor; and Prof. Adrienne Massanari (at left) was promoted to Full Professor. All three work with our PhD students in the School of\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/faculty-promotions-2026\/\">Read More: Faculty Promotions 2026 &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4245,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":237,"date":"2026-10-10T08:50:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T13:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=237"},"modified":"2026-11-11T10:54:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T15:54:39","slug":"empowering-democracy-portulans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/empowering-democracy-portulans\/","title":{"rendered":"Hosting a Forum on &#8220;Empowering Democracy&#8221; feat. Beth Simone Noveck (Oct. 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In collaboration with the Portulans Institute in Washington, DC, the School of Communication (SOC) at American University invites you to a forum entitled \u201cEmpowering Democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cssh.northeastern.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/beth-simone-noveck-750x1000-c-default.jpeg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:241px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The forum will present the first report on findings of research by the Portulans Democracy Team on innovations in democracy, entitled \u201cTo Empower Democracy\u201d. The report will be discussed throughout the day, accompanied by a keynote entitled <em>\u201cInstitutionalizing Participation: From Democratic Innovation to Democratic Practice in the Age of AI\u201d<\/em> by Professor Beth Simone Noveck. Drawing on her new book, <em>Reboot: AI and the Race to Save Democracy<\/em> (Yale University Press, 2026), her keynote asks what it takes to move democratic innovation from promising experiment to institutional practice. Focusing on more participatory forms of democracy, it explores how public institutions can build the skills, structures, technologies, incentives, and leadership needed to make participation consequential, durable, and scalable in the age of AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our keynote speaker, Beth Simone Noveck, is a professor at Northeastern University with appointments in law, engineering, policy, communications, and computer science. She directs the Burnes Center for Social Change and the GovLab. Her work focuses on how to use AI to strengthen democratic institutions, in line with the overall theme of the forum. She previously served in the White House, at 10 Downing Street, and in the German Chancellery, and was founding Chief AI Strategist and Chief Innovation Officer for the State of New Jersey. Beth founded the White House Open Government Initiative. Today she leads InnovateUS, which supports free public-sector learning, and its research initiative, the Observatory of Public Sector AI \u2014 the largest collection of data on the public sector and its use of AI. She created AI for Impact, which designs and deploys open-source AI tools to improve public outcomes, and Solving Public Problems, which trains the next generation of leaders and problem-solvers. In 2026, Beth joined the Australian Resilient Democracy Network as a Global Fellow and the Harvard Kennedy School as a Policy Fellow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Laura DeNardis will introduce Professor Noveck, and moderate the Q&amp;A for her talk. Dr. DeNardis is Professor and Inaugural Endowed Chair in Technology, Ethics and Society at Georgetown University, where she also directs the Center for Digital Ethics. A scholar of technology governance and cybersecurity who has authored eight major books, DeNardis was named one of thirty-two global Innovators Building a Better Future by Wired UK. She is an affiliated fellow of the Yale Information Society Project, where she previously served as Executive Director, and is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Professor DeNardis holds an AB in Engineering Science from Dartmouth College, an MEng from Cornell University, a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Virginia Tech, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale Law School.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The keynote is a brilliant highlight to a full-day of critical discussion of our study of how we can empower democracy, enabled by innovations shaping democratic institutions and processes. The report, \u201cTo Empower Democracy,\u201d is based on cross-national surveys of the public in Brazil, Germany, the UK, and the USA, along with 27 case studies of innovations across 19 countries worldwide.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">William Dutton, author of <em>The Fifth Estate<\/em>, will open the morning with a presentation of key findings of the Portulans Democracy Project. This will be followed by the keynote, and selected case studies from the 27 by members of the Democracy Team, including innovations in public participation, journalism, public institutions and services, and public opinion and civic education \u2014 as well as a participant-observer study of the project seeking to use AI to build a Habermasian space for democratic communication.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An overview of the research is available here: <a href=\"https:\/\/portulansinstitute.org\/portulans-democracy-project\/\">https:\/\/portulansinstitute.org\/portulans-democracy-project\/<\/a>, along with a list of the Democracy Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please join this forum in person or online by registering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/invitation-to-a-forum-on-empowering-democracy-with-a-keynote-from-professor-tickets-2001012543383?aff=oddtdtcreator\">HERE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In collaboration with the Portulans Institute in Washington, DC, the School of Communication (SOC) at American University invites you to a forum entitled \u201cEmpowering Democracy.\u201d The forum will present the first report on findings of research by the Portulans Democracy Team on innovations in democracy, entitled \u201cTo Empower Democracy\u201d. The report will be discussed throughout\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/empowering-democracy-portulans\/\">Read More: Hosting a Forum on &#8220;Empowering Democracy&#8221; feat. Beth Simone Noveck\u2026 &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4245,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4245"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":234,"date":"2026-10-08T15:26:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T20:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=234"},"modified":"2026-11-11T10:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T15:52:18","slug":"design-research-civic-media-for-new-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/design-research-civic-media-for-new-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"Design Research: Civic Cards for Different Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>One strength of AU is our world-class centers on media, from games to social impact. This post describes how one center is exploring media to structure face-to-face interaction&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"http:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-249\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1-660x371.png 660w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/10\/Untitled-design-1.png 1680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How can we open really new conversations about media, technology, and society? One strength of being in Washington DC is the way that people can physically have conversations across silos and lines of expertise\u2015very different from policy Zoom meetings.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, American University&#8217;s Game Center hosted Danish civic designer Nadja Pass for a demonstration and conversation about Concopia\u2014a conversational card set featuring 50 cards that range from questions and stories to social issues of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pass was in town to present a larger <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dclibrary.org\/concopia\"><em>Concopia<\/em> exhibition<\/a> currently on view at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, where visitors can walk through the Concopian Chamber of Wonders, a labyrinth made from 33 giant Concopia cards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Game Center visit offered an opportunity to experience the ideas behind the exhibition in a much smaller setting. Pass walked our group through the Concopia Cards and invited us to consider how carefully designed questions can create space for people to listen, reflect, and connect across differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the demonstration, Pass introduced students to one of her favorite ways of using the cards: \u201clistening rounds,\u201d in which one person responds to a card while everyone else listens without commenting. The practice, she explained, creates room for something that rarely happens in everyday conversation: \u201cWhen they are not interrupted, then what comes in the second, third, or fourth wave of their thinking is usually much more interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cards span five categories, or what Concopia calls five approaches: Civic Desires, Reenchantments, Endangered Skills, Pivotal People, and Wonders of Nature. While some cards prompt large-scale thinking and societal impact, others focus on personal reflection regarding our skills, relationships, and connection to nature. This is an intentional structure\u2014one that allows us to pause, take a beat, and fully evaluate ourselves and the world around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This approach aligns with the work of <a href=\"https:\/\/playfulcity.net\/go\/\">Playful City Lab<\/a>, which takes place within the Game Center. Our researchers explore how games and other playful experiences can create new ways for people to engage in civic life. In conversation with Professor Ben Stokes, who leads the Playful City Lab, Pass discussed how Concopia was inspired by a trend she noticed: people were finding it difficult to engage in everyday conversation. The cards fulfill a goal of connectivity, and implicitly, as a starting point for community-building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just as Concopia invites us to reimagine and rethink, it also offers a reframing to our question: how can we open really new conversations about media, technology, and society? Maybe the first step to answering is identifying how we design experiences to help people talk, listen, and learn together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Concopia is on display at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library from September 9 through October 22.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One strength of AU is our world-class centers on media, from games to social impact. This post describes how one center is exploring media to structure face-to-face interaction&#8230; How can we open really new conversations about media, technology, and society? One strength of being in Washington DC is the way that people can physically have\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/design-research-civic-media-for-new-conversations\/\">Read More: Design Research: Civic Cards for Different Conversations &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4516,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9,11,6,5,10,7,8],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","tag-american-university","tag-american-university-game-center","tag-civic-card-game","tag-concopia","tag-game-center","tag-game-design-research","tag-playful-city-lab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":181,"date":"2026-04-27T11:58:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=181"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:08:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T17:08:05","slug":"2026-tri-school-phd-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/2026-tri-school-phd-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Tri-School PhD Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/auvoices.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/conference-thumbs-tri-schol2026.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:206px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research culture of AU was proudly on display across multiple schools at the &#8220;Tri-School PhD Conference&#8221; on April 10, 2026. Several of our PhD students were featured, as well as faculty respondents. PhD programs from the School of International Service (SIS), School of Communication (SOC), and School of Public Affairs (SPA) jointly organize the event each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The experience provides a safe test-run for what it&#8217;s like to present at a professional conference. Just as importantly, students network and get input across disciplines. Below is the agenda, which featured work spanning from democratic institutions under stress to structural power and political economy. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-184\" style=\"width:188px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-660x880.jpg 660w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_131216957_iOS-1-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Panel 1: Democratic Institution under Stress<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Bryan Bayne,<em> Department of Government<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Does Democracy Die in Darkness? Electricity Outages and Voting Behavior in Sao Paulo<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rachel Williams, <em>Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Presidential Pardons: US as a state governed by transitional justice principles&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Riley Van Steenburg, <em>Department of Government<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;The Effects of Continuing Resolutions on Federal Contracting&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Panel 2: Information, Messaging, and Political Expression<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diana Wallens, <em>Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;True, False, and Does It Even Matter? Right-Wing Extremists&#8217; Exploitation of AL Technology for Political and Narrative Ends&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Qingya Xu, <em>Department of Government<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;The Effects of Content Moderation Decisions on Political Expression Online&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kenzie Larson, <em>School of Communication<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;The Gendered Strategy of the Far Right: Female Political Influencers on X&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kristen Munnelly, <em>Department of Government<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Do Philanthropic Foundations Support Pluralism in US Civil Society?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Panel 3: Conflict, Violence, and State Response<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jennifer Eburuoh, <em>School of International Service<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Understanding Narratives in the Farmer-Herder Conflicts of Northern Nigeria&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Breanna Roberts, <em>Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Silent Survivors: An Analysis of Unreported Sexual Violence Disclosures on Asocial Media&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Joey Stabile, <em>Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Evolving Threats, Dynamic Strategies: Toward a New Framework for Countering Right-Wing Extremism&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><strong>Panel 4: Structural Power and Political Economy<\/strong><\/span>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ali Amini, <em>Department of Government<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;The Nature and Origins of Trade Realignment&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kanika Varma, <em>School of International Service<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Caste-Indebtedness as World Order: Reading the Indian Farmers&#8217; Protest from Below&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Alasana Camara, <em>School of Communication<\/em>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;The Role of Research &amp; Development in AI Competitiveness: Does Democracy Amplify Its Impact?&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133739320_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"187\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_133906989_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"195\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_151225845_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"186\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134129829_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_134343766_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"191\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_153139945_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_155230827_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/20260410_161350035_iOS-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"198\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2833-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"188\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-660x880.jpg 660w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2834-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"197\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/IMG_2835-660x495.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The research culture of AU was proudly on display across multiple schools at the &#8220;Tri-School PhD Conference&#8221; on April 10, 2026. Several of our PhD students were featured, as well as faculty respondents. PhD programs from the School of International Service (SIS), School of Communication (SOC), and School of Public Affairs (SPA) jointly organize the\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/2026-tri-school-phd-conference\/\">Read More: 2026 Tri-School PhD Conference &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":115,"date":"2026-04-27T10:38:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T15:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=115"},"modified":"2026-04-27T13:27:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T18:27:34","slug":"9th-circuit-impact-phelps-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/9th-circuit-impact-phelps-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty impact: 9th Circuit filing on Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/auvoices.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/andy-phelps_pic.webp\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is exciting when faculty can help shape decisions of influential courts like the 9th Circuit. Recently, Prof. Andy Phelps contributed his expertise in a Brief of Amici Curiae about the Upper Deck Company v. Ryan Milton (Ryan Miller). Prof Phelps serves advises PhD students at the AU SOC, and directs the AU Game Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This case is on a dispute between The Upper Deck Company, a major trading card manufacturer, and an individual, Ryan Milton (also known as Ryan Miller), the brand manager and co-designer of the <em>Disney Lorcana <\/em>Trading Card Game, and Ravensburger in June 2023. Ryan Miller was accused of producing or distributing counterfeit or unauthorized trading cards using confidential <em>Rush of Ikorr<\/em> game designs to create <em>Disney Lorcana<\/em>. At the heart of this case, this is about intellectual property (IP) and authenticity, or more specifically, whether Ryan Milton violated Upper Deck&#8217;s rights by creating <em>Lorcana<\/em> on the intellectual property of <em>Rush of Ikorr.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case was settled in October 2025 where U.S. District Judge Kymberly K. Evanson ruled that <em>Lorcana<\/em> did not infringe on Upper Deck&#8217;s <em>Rush of Ikorr <\/em>copyright. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/auvoices.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lorcana-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7251454427925017;width:452px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/auvoices.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Lorcana-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:452px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is exciting when faculty can help shape decisions of influential courts like the 9th Circuit. Recently, Prof. Andy Phelps contributed his expertise in a Brief of Amici Curiae about the Upper Deck Company v. Ryan Milton (Ryan Miller). Prof Phelps serves advises PhD students at the AU SOC, and directs the AU Game Center.\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/9th-circuit-impact-phelps-games\/\">Read More: Faculty impact: 9th Circuit filing on Games &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":111,"date":"2026-04-23T11:16:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=111"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T16:17:48","slug":"dc-experts-in-classes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/dc-experts-in-classes\/","title":{"rendered":"DC Experts &#8211; Recent Appearances in Classes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1358\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/speakers-snapshot-2026-ramzanali-cammarano-dadamo.jpg\" alt=\"Photos of Asad Ramzanali, Stacey Cammarano, Kate D'Adamo\" class=\"wp-image-199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/speakers-snapshot-2026-ramzanali-cammarano-dadamo.jpg 1358w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/speakers-snapshot-2026-ramzanali-cammarano-dadamo-300x127.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/speakers-snapshot-2026-ramzanali-cammarano-dadamo-1024x434.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/speakers-snapshot-2026-ramzanali-cammarano-dadamo-768x326.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/04\/speakers-snapshot-2026-ramzanali-cammarano-dadamo-660x280.jpg 660w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1358px) 100vw, 1358px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Almost every week, a different expert in federal policy or international relations visits the classes of American University. There&#8217;s something special about being in DC. What does that look like for our grad programs on Media, Technology and Democracy? To name a few, in the 2025-26 school year we&#8217;ve had:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Asad Ramzanali<\/strong>, <em>former Chief of Staff and Deputy Director for Strategy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)<\/em>, and current <em>Director of Artificial Intelligence and Technology Policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stacey Cammarano<\/strong>, <em>Staff Attorney at the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Kate D&#8217;Adamo<\/strong>, <em>a community organizer with Reframe Health and Justice <\/em>working on policy and advocacy to changing and addressing laws and policies for sex worker rights. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Laura DeNardis<\/strong>, <em>Director of the Center for Digital Ethics at Georgetown, Endowed Chair in Tech, Ethics, and Society, and former dean at American University.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Meredith Rose<\/strong>, <em>Senior Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge<\/em>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>David Karpf<\/strong>, <em>Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University <\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dr. Nathalie Marechal<\/strong>, <em>Co-Director of Privacy and Data Project <\/em>at the <em>Center for Democracy &amp; Technology (CDT)<\/em>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dhanaraj Thakur<\/strong>, <em>Research Director<\/em> at the <em>Center for Democracy &amp; Technology (CDT)<\/em>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ei Myat Noe Khin<\/strong>, <em>Program Manager<\/em> at the <em>Open Technology Fund<\/em>. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The intimacy of Washington, D.C., means the experts are less removed from the classroom, and the in-person connection can lead to an internship or job later on. Proximity means fewer flights and less travel planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Topics classes tend to have more speakers, but some appear in methods and theory classes. Some are working within institutions, while others are challenging them. They span policy, nonprofits, media, and technology. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Almost every week, a different expert in federal policy or international relations visits the classes of American University. There&#8217;s something special about being in DC. What does that look like for our grad programs on Media, Technology and Democracy? To name a few, in the 2025-26 school year we&#8217;ve had: The intimacy of Washington, D.C.,\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/dc-experts-in-classes\/\">Read More: DC Experts &#8211; Recent Appearances in Classes &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":87,"date":"2026-02-26T13:28:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T18:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=87"},"modified":"2026-10-08T15:15:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T20:15:57","slug":"at-pca-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/at-pca-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Presenting at PCA: Faculty and Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are excited about the AU faculty and students presenting at this year&#8217;s PCA in Atlanta in April. PCA is the Pop Culture Association conference (April 8-11, 2026). It is one of the most popular and influential academic conferences in the field of popular culture and media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sessions featuring our faculty and students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Thursday, April 9<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/sherriw.cfm\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.american.edu\/soc\/faculty\/sherriw.cfm\">Sherri Williams<\/a>, &#8220;The Digital Welfare Queen: Algorithmic Minstrelsy and Artificial Intelligence&#8221; \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udccdL406 (Lobby Level)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u23f0 1:15 PM &#8211; 2:45 PM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eunice Kim, &#8220;Behind the Search Bar: The Infrastructural Politics of Google Scholar\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udccdL507 (Lobby Level)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u23f0 4:45 PM &#8211; 6:15 PM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Friday, April 10<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Renee Bracey Sherman, &#8220;For Colored Girls: An Analysis of Black Characters&#8217; Experiences with Abortion on American Television and Film&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udccdInternational Ballroom 8<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u23f0 9:45 AM &#8211; 11:15 AM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Jonathan Matthew Williams, \n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;Kamala Harris versus the Manosphere: How Male Podcasters Strengthen Stochastic Violence and Misogyny Targeting Black Women&#8221; [Poster Presentation]\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udccdAtrium Ballroom AB (Atrium Level)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u23f0 9:45 AM &#8211; 11:15 AM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;How the Far-Right is Making Hip Hop the Soundtrack of America&#8217;s Fascism&#8221;\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udccdL507 (Lobby Level)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u23f0 9:45 AM &#8211; 11:15 AM<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Updates from PCA!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"131\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview-660x660.jpg 660w, https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/76268E5A-CCB7-48EF-A6CD-4697F4CC023E_3_preview.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"135\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/53B29955-1DF1-4A9F-827E-E4563CCC92DF_3_preview-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-135\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"132\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/IMG_8103_3_preview-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-132\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-id=\"133\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/02\/IMG_8105_3_preview-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-133\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are excited about the AU faculty and students presenting at this year&#8217;s PCA in Atlanta in April. PCA is the Pop Culture Association conference (April 8-11, 2026). It is one of the most popular and influential academic conferences in the field of popular culture and media. Sessions featuring our faculty and students Thursday, April\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/at-pca-2026\/\">Read More: Presenting at PCA: Faculty and Students &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}},{"id":59,"date":"2026-02-26T12:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/?p=59"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:22:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T18:22:46","slug":"panels-performances-sinnreich-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/panels-performances-sinnreich-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"From Panels to Performances: Sinnreich on Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2583\/2026\/01\/A.-Sinnreich-post-1-819x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7998056028048738;width:320px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What kind of book tours feature our faculty? In this post, we highlight Professor Aram Sinnreich, who is on tour with his book  <em><a href=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262048811\/the-secret-life-of-data\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/mitpress.mit.edu\/9780262048811\/the-secret-life-of-data\/\">The Secret Life of Data: Navigating Hype and Uncertainty in the Age of Algorithmic Surveillance<\/a>, <\/em>co-authored with Jesse Gilbert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One twist for academics: beyond bookstores, their appearances can include centers&#8230; or even musical appearances. For this post, we highlight his appearance as an invited panelist at Silicon Flatirons Center for Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Law School. He also gave a book talk and live musical performance at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, NY, alongside Jesse Gilbert and Paul &#8220;DJ Spooky&#8221; Miller, and delivered a book talk at the Stanford Tech Impact and Policy Center in Palo Alto, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The book itself explores the complex and often unexpected ways that data surveillance, AI, and algorithms shape our culture and society. At the core is one big idea: data never behaves the way we expect it to. No matter how it is collected or what it is meant to do, data always ends up taking on a &#8220;secret life.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across his tour, Professor Sinnreich is not so much selling the book as starting a series of conversations about culture and media with different experts and audiences. The two examples above are a reminder for how academic research can move beyond the classroom and into public and creative spaces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What kind of book tours feature our faculty? In this post, we highlight Professor Aram Sinnreich, who is on tour with his book The Secret Life of Data: Navigating Hype and Uncertainty in the Age of Algorithmic Surveillance, co-authored with Jesse Gilbert. One twist for academics: beyond bookstores, their appearances can include centers&#8230; or even\u2026 <span class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/panels-performances-sinnreich-tour\/\">Read More: From Panels to Performances: Sinnreich on Tour &raquo;<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4452"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/edspace.american.edu\/media-technology-democracy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}]