Category: Scholarship

Algorithms of Rage to rhythms of Change

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“Algorithms of Rage to Rhythms of Change: Notes on a Research Journey”

A Closing Keynote Speech at “Visions of Change” Conference

University of Calgary, 11 May 2022

by: Merlyna Lim, Canada Research Chair in Digital Media & Global Network Society & ALiGN Media Lab Director, Carleton University

Part I: “Algorithms of Rage” https://youtu.be/TLodwU5ZvrU – 5’59”

Part II: “The Rhythm of Us” https://youtu.be/8F1noEbb_d – 8’16”

Part III: “The AlgoRhythms of Rohingya and Hasan’s bicycle” https://youtu.be/E9RyM3TrYxM – 7’06”

Part IV: “Burning Bodies: The Offbeat that Binds Us” https://youtu.be/VChCQZ6Xyas – 7’56”

Part V: “Closing remarks: Rhythms of Change?” https://youtu.be/Uk-5U_fC4W8 – 2’29”

#rhythm #algorithm #change #pandemic #covid19 #coronavirus

#Coronaconspiracy

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Just published! If you’re interested in learning about the relationship between the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, conspiracy theories, social media affordances, and algorithms, then this article is for you.

Lim, M. (2022). #Coronaconspiracy: Algorithms, Users, and Conspiracy Theories in Social Media. M/C Journal, 25(1). https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2877

Check out some other articles in this special #Conspiracy issue. They’re interesting!
#socialmedia #algorithm #conspiracytheory #conspiracies #covid19

Rhythm & ALGORITHM OF US

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Text of my speech for the Jakarta Arts Council’s “Pidato Kebudayaan” (“The Speech on Culture”) is available in both English and Indonesian, here:

http://bit.ly/rhythm_algorithm.

Naskah Pidato Kebudayaan DKJ saya bisa diunduh di link tersebut.

Also, the talk itself, while delivered in Indonesian, now it has English subtitle;it’s way more rhythmical than a written version.

Kalau bisa bahasa Indonesia, menurutku sih mending dengar dulu baru baca, krn “rasa” & “ekspresi” penting, juga ritme-nya akan terasa di versi pidato lisan (bonus: ada musik + heureuy).

Though I am Indonesian, ironically, I wrote this text originally in English, then translated it into Indonesian “with a little help of my friend”, Google translator 😃 (I had to edit manually and heavily, but this friend helped a bit). Probably because I think, joke & dream in English (& ngocoblak tur heureuy ngangge basa Sunda) 😄

The Evolution of Intellectual Freedom

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I’m presenting “The Evolution of Merlyna’s a Critical Monkey’s Intellectual Freedom” (bottom) 😆.

It was part of my last public lecture which basically attempted to provide an alternative imagination of possible career/life pathways. It’s my take vis-a-vis a (valid) critic of the state of intellectual freedom in academia by a brilliant Jorge Cham/PhD comic in 2011 (top). I think Cham’s is on point, but luckily his comic doesn’t apply to me.

~ eh, ini beneran lho dari slide kuliah umumku 😆 ~

I believe in (trying my best in) being curious, having fun, and staying critical. Also “naughty” — and becoming naughtier as I get older 🙈😋. And never stop to be really bothered by injustice–hey, a critical monkey can be really angry, too 🙊. No, never follow the “money” or the “safest” pathway. No, it’s not easy or smooth; sometimes you fail and/or people/institutions failed you, but speaking for myself and myself alone, I never and will never regret this choice. FYI, I am one of the lucky ones who survived academia and became a tenured professor several years ago by fully exercising my own freedom, doing research that I believed in. I hope to swing up-side-down while holding a banana when I am an emerita professor (if I ever become one someday) and grin satisfactorily when I RIP 😝😎.

~ aku katanya kelakuan mirip monyet, tapi ngga suka pisang sih 😆 ~

I made an initial drawing, then my talented artist-friend Rivi Rian 😍🥰😍 decorated it with beautiful viney leaves.

p.s. some grad students who took my class probably had seen this critical monkey appeared in their assignments 😁.

[Publication] Algorithmic Enclaves

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“Algorithmic enclaves”. I introduced this term in my 2017 article “Freedom to Hate” — which was instantaneously coined during the Q&A after my talk in Stockholm earlier that year (thank you folks for asking me hard questions!)– but didn’t detail the concept yet. Having read that article, some supportive colleagues suggested me to write an essay solely about the concept, so I did. Here it is:

Lim, M. (2020). Algorithmic enclaves: Affective politics and algorithms in the neoliberal social media landscape.published in: M. Boler & E. Davis (eds.), Affective Politics of Digital Media: Propaganda by Other Means.

You can download a copy-proof version through the link below — which is a 100% copy of the final version. For some unexpected reasons, it was impossible for me to copyedit and copy proof this one; I hope it still reads well 😎.

https://bit.ly/32SpZ4j

[Publication] Dis/connection in the Global South

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Just published:
Lim, M. (2020). The politics and perils of dis/connection in the Global South. Media, Culture & Society.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443720914032

Using empirical vignettes of repression against minority groups in the Global South, in this essay I introduce the term ‘dis/connection’ into the existing discourse on disconnection to illustrate how the interplay between connection and disconnection serves as a tactic and a technique of both repression and resistance.

The essay was written in its entirety during my visiting senior research fellowship in London at LSE in the Fall 2019. I thank LSE Southeast Asia for their support.

On International Women’s Day

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March 8th is the International Women’s Day. On this day, I’m deeply honoured to be recognized alongside these 9 amazing women.

In my journey, from a little girl with red ribbons in Dayeuhkolot to who I am today, I am indebted to the generations of women before me who paved the way for all the opportunities women enjoy today. I am inspired by the remarkably brave and resilient women in my life who exist, resist, and persist, despite the patriarchy. I am proud of the next generation of women who challenge the status quo and fight for equal rights every single day.

Here’s to all extraordinary women I have had a privilege to know in my life, in Dayeuhkolot, Indonesia, Canada, and all over the world! 

https://newsroom.carleton.ca/story/honouring-women-leaders-researchers/

#IWD2020 #InternationalWomensDay #EachforEqual

Cyber-urban space

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So, by the invitation of the editorial team, my term “cyber-urban space” is officially included in The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies (edited by Anthony M. Orum)

The encyclopedia entry is available here:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/…/10…/9781118568446.eurs0069

or, it’s also available for free download from here https://bit.ly/30bXdbx

Enjoy reading!

Mobilizing Emotion, Not Knowledge

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Carleton University’s Faculty of Public Affairs runs a story of my research, as follows:

Mobilizing Emotion, Not Knowledge

As Canada prepares for a federal election, Canada Research Chair Professor Merlyna Lim is analyzing how social media users—human and otherwise—are mobilizing emotions rather than facts.

In the months leading up to the Canadian election, Facebook accounts with names like “Trudeau Has Got To Go”, “Overthrow Trudeau”, and Justin Trudeau is an Idiot” focus on ridiculing the Prime Minister.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum are accounts attacking Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, with names such as “Andrew Scheer Is An Idiot”, “Scheer Nonsense”, and “Schmeer 2019”.

Political cartoons and jokes are an age-old tradition. But Communication and Media Studies Professor Merlyna says that in the age of social media, hateful speech and misinformation spreads incredibly quickly—intensifying the polarization within politics.

CLICK TO READ ON