Great Minds Dialogues:
Zeynep Tufekci
Social Media and Our Attention
As a leading Catholic University, Seton Hall is committed to cultivating great minds
by engaging with the great conversations and challenges of our time. The Great Minds
Dialogues focus on academic freedom and civil discourse -- where all are encouraged
to share ideas, strive to be understood and see the world as others see it.
About the Event
Zeynep Tufekci, M.S., Ph.D., is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina. She studies the interaction between digital technology, artificial intelligence and society, and will discuss, "Social Media and Our Attention: Algorithms, Business Models and Our Lives."
Prior to Tufekci's presentation, Brian Sumereau and Emily Feazel, two students from Brownson Speech and Debate Team, will perform, "Letters, Love and Tears Through Glass," an original compilation of prose, poetry, drama and commentary about the love, power and pain that our social media "discourse" causes.
Zeynep Tufekci
UNC Professor Zeynep Tufekci is a faculty associate at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Atlantic. She was previously an Andrew Carnegie Fellow and a fellow at the Center for Information Technology Policy at the Princeton University. Her academic work focuses on social movements and civics, privacy and surveillance, and social interaction. She is also increasingly known for her work on "big data" and algorithmic decision making. Originally from Turkey, and formerly a computer programmer, Tufekci became interested in the social impacts of technology and began to focus on how digital and computational technology interact with social, political and cultural dynamics.
Her work has appeared in a wide range of outlets, from peer-reviewed journals to traditional media outlets and blogging platforms. Her book, Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest (Yale University Press), has received praise from Publisher’s Weekly, the Financial Times, The New Yorker and Inside Higher Ed. View Professor Tufekci's TED Talk "We're Building a Dystopia Just to Make People Click on Ads" »
Sponsors
This event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Mission and Ministry. A reception with light refreshments will follow the Dialogue.
Event Info
Moderator
Associate Professor of Communication
Head Coach and Director of the Brownson Speech and Debate Team
Professor Zizik is a consultant, trainer, coach and performance practitioner. As a
Seton Hall faculty member since 1985, she enjoys working with students in order to
empower their hearts, minds, and spirits through the blend of rhetoric and performance.
Zizik is the founding director of Forensics of the Brownson Speech and Debate Team
and is the foundress and director of the Metropolitan Forensics Institute. As a performance
practitioner she has coached several undergraduate national speech champions. Read More »
"Letters, Love and Tears Through Glass"
Conceived and directed by Professor Catherine Zizik, "Letters, Love and Tears Through Glass" is an original compilation of prose, poetry, drama and commentary about the love, power and pain that our social media "discourse" causes. For better or for worse, social media has normalized our communication, while challenging the depth and breadth of our interpersonal relationships. This dramatic duo performance hopes to open our minds and provide a foundation to discuss the impacts of social media on college students.
