Gov 2.0 Expo 2010: Danah Boyd, "Connecting with Communities"

Tags: knowledge, data visualization, demography, information literacy, technology, subtitles/CC, 11 to 20 mins 
Year: 2010
Length: 14:14
Access: YouTube

Summary: In this talk entitled, "Connecting with Communities," sociologist Danah Boyd discusses the importance of data transparency, but argues that data are not enough. Even more important is the ability to interpret data. Boyd discusses the increasing tendency of data to be spun in order to suit political agendas and calls for expanded information literacy in order to fight against those who spin data solely for political advantage. The clip would be useful for an introductory sociology course, as it might be a way of illustrating the usefullness of analytical skills. The clip might also be useful for teaching a class on the sociology of knowledge because Boyd explains how the meaning behind statistics is itself actively contested and not simply given.
 
Note, this clip might work well with Hans Rosling's talk at Ted, where he notes that empirical data often provide insights which contradict common sense.

Submitted By: Lester Andrist

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