An Anthropological Enquiry into Notions of 'Empowment' in a Digital Age

DIGITAL LITERACIES
An Anthropological Enquiry into Notions of
„Empowerment‟ in a Digital Age
Hana Mori
UCL BSc Anthropology 3rd Year
Digital Literacies Officer, E-Learning Environments ISD UCL
hana.mori.11@ucl.ac.uk

My Background
 Visual Communications, Foundation Degree Chelsea
College of Art & Design
 BSc Anthropology 3rd Year
 Digital Literacies Officer, E-Learning Environments
Information Services Division
 Interested in Policy Design and International
Development

Introduction
- What are we trying to achieve through digital literacies?
- What is the wider context?
- How are students responding to it?
- A Digital University?

Methodology
 Participant Observation
 Discourse Analysis
 Interviews
 No Moral Evaluation

Content
 The Digital Revolution: A Way of Understanding the World
 Digital Literacies for Development?
 Case Study: Coding & Entrepreneurship
 Reconsidering the Role of University
 Conclusions

Content
 The Digital Revolution: A Way of Understanding the
World
 Digital Literacies for Development?
 Case Study: Coding & Entrepreneurship
 Reconsidering the Role of University
 Conclusions

The Digital Revolution:
A way of Seeing the World
• Overthrown business models,
• The economy,
• Analytical models,
• Citizenship
• Sociality
• Knowledge
“ People around the world
feel the winds of
multidimensional social
change without truly
understanding it,
let alone feeling a grasp
upon the process of
change ”
Castells, 2000

A Beautiful Future
 Technology = Progress
 Desirable
 Video: Internet.org
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdWaZkvAJfM

“We… declare our common desire and commitment
to build a people-centred, inclusive and
development-oriented Information Society, where
everyone can create, access, utilize and share
information and knowledge, enabling individuals,
communities and peoples to achieve their full
potential in promoting their sustainable development
and improving their quality of life.”
(United Nations, 2003:1, my own emphasis)

Internet: Democratizing, Equalising
To have VOICE = EXIST
Increased communication  WORLD PEACE
Digital Skills for Development

Digital Divide: Full of risk and opportunities

Naturalized Digital Revolution
 Historical Outcome
 Evolution
 Progress

What does this mean?
 We embrace the Digital Revolution,
 We embrace Change,
 Becomes our Reality.

In Summary…
 The vision of the digital revolution is very attractive.
 It conjures universal values.
 It has been naturalized.
 It is thrilling and encourages participation.

“Each person should have the opportunity to acquire
the necessary skills and knowledge in order to
understand, participate actively in, and benefit fully
from, the Information Society and the knowledge
economy. Literacy and universal primary education
are key factors for building a fully inclusive information
society.”
(United Nations, 2003)

 Who are we targeting?
 Vulnerable and Marginalized
 in the EU:
“people aged 65 to 74 years old, people on low incomes,
the unemployed and the less educated.”
(European Commission 2010:25)

What are we trying to achieve?
“I think it’s inherently flawed to try and teach
literacy. In language, it’s like the bare minimum,
it really is an insult. It’s like being digitally
illiterate means you don’t understand anything
about computers I suppose. Digitally literate is
really the bare minimum.”
Donald, from 18/10/13 ELE focus group

In Summary…
 Basic Human Right to Participate
 Digital Literacy = entry ticket to Digital Society
 „Empowerment‟ is being included

Case Study: Coding &
Entrepreneurship
UCL Entrepreneurship Society
Cookies & Coding, October 2013
148 people attended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKIu9yen5nc

Entrepreneurship

“Empowering” “About helping
people”
“Amazing”
“Humbling”
“Wizards of the future”
“closest thing we have to superpowers”
“coders are today’s rock stars”
Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship
THE EPIC GOAL:
To be a Part of the “NEXT BIG THING”
How? WORK – ETHIC
“Everyone has a million dollar idea, but only the top 0.5% actually go
through with it”
“if you hit your head against the wall hard enough and at the right
angle, you can do practically anything”
“You can replace any skill with the skill of learning fast”

 UK is a facilitator rather than a catalyst
 Give OPPORTUNITIES
 Provide a VISION
Entrepreneurship

 Learning Skills ≠ Using Skills
 Identity building
 Community of Practice, Social Capital
 A sense of Belonging
 Not a Causal Relationship
Reconsidering the Role of the
University

University
“You can replace any skill with the skill of learning
fast”
 Not about transforming our students
 But allowing them to transform

University

CONCLUSIONS
 The Digital Revolution provides an EPIC GOAL
 „Empowerment‟ is PARTICIPATION
 Limits to the Institution‟s Influence
 Act as a FACILITATOR, not a CATALYST

Questions?
Hana Mori
UCL BSc Anthropology 3rd Year
Digital Literacies Officer,
ELE ISD UCL
hana.mori.11@ucl.ac.uk

An Anthropological Enquiry into Notions of 'Empowment' in a Digital Age

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