Theodora Sutton

Profile

Theodora Sutton is a student on the DPhil in Information, Communication & the Social Sciences.

Since 2014 Theodora has been studying a community of “digital detoxers” in Northern California, using this as a locus for techno-anxiety, pre-digital nostalgia and the widespread cultural narrative of digital technology as inherently ‘lesser’ or less ‘natural’ than previous forms of communication. Her research addresses questions around internet addiction, and how to use digital technology in a healthy or balanced way, from an anthropological perspective.

Theodora’s research began in the context of a Fine Art degree at Wimbledon College of Art, and she has made sculptures and installations exploring our relationship with digital technology.

Theodora is also interested in methods, particularly ethnography and ethics, and how to incorporate social media into ethnographic research.

She helps to run the OII based seminar series OxDEG: Oxford Digital Ethnography Group.

Research interests

Digital Anthropology, Digital Detoxing, Pre-digital nostalgia, Nature and ‘the natural’, Mediation, Social Media, Silicon Valley, Digital addiction, Post techno-apocalyptic Narratives, Food and dieting, Healthism, Culturally specific understandings of technology

Positions held at the OII

• DPhil student, October 2015 –

Supervisors at the OII

• Prof Rebecca Eynon