Knowledge Politics Across Digital Divides: Talk at Development Studies Association Conference

How do digital divides shape whose knowledge is seen as legitimate in development? Often ICTD projects focus on overcoming infrastructure and educational digital divides. TASCHA Senior Research Scientist Jason Young argues that digital divides also shape what types of knowledge individuals can express once online. These knowledge hierarchies, in turn, can drive development processes. Jason will give a talk at the Development Studies Association Conference that explores the intersection of digital divides and knowledge politics. Jason grounds his argument in a case study of how Inuit, an Indigenous people of the Arctic, use digital technologies in Canada. His talk examines the material inequalities and digital practices that prevent Inuit from expressing Indigenous knowledge online and the tactics they’ve used to overcome knowledge hierarchies.
 
Jason will give his talk, “Knowledge Politics Across Digital Divides: Environmental Change, Indigeneity, and Technology Use in the Arctic” as part of the “Digital inequalities and development” panel on June 27th in Manchester, UK. You can follow the conference on Twitter using the hashtag #DSA2018.