Root Systems, Land Cultivation, and Hurricanes: The Benefits and Limitations of Applying Ecological Metaphors to Information Dysfunction
-
Speakers:
Felix Simon, Professor Whitney Phillips, Professor Ryan M. Milner
-
Recorded:
17 February 2021
-
Duration:
00:58:31
- Playlist:
About this video
Professor Whitney Phillips, Assistant Professor, Syracuse University and Professor Ryan M. Milner, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, College of Charleston, co-authors of ‘You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Information Landscape’ were hosted by Felix M. Simon of the OII in this Wednesday Webinar.
The publication employs a series of ecological metaphors to describe our present information landscape and to explain the various network changes that brought us to this moment. While these metaphors provide a useful, inclusive entry-point into pressing ethical and political issues, they also pose some methodological challenges. This talk discusses both the positives and the negatives of metaphor as argument. It also discusses how and why Phillips and Milner chose to translate You Are Here’s metaphors into a children’s book.
About the Speaker
-
Felix Simon
DPhil Student
Felix is a OII DPhil Student, a research assistant at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism and a Fellow at Columbia University's Tow Center. As a Leverhulme Doctoral Scholar he is researching AI in journalism and the news industry.
-
Professor Whitney Phillips
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University
Whitney Phillips researches and teaches class on media literacy, mis-and disinformation, political communication, and digital ethics, including journalistic ethics and the ethics of everyday social media use. She's also interested in folklore online and o
-
Professor Ryan M. Milner
Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Communications, College of Charleston
Ryan Milner is a writer and professor, teaching several courses on modern media technology and digital communications. His primary field of study is focussed on the effects of the internet on society, and how people respond differently to emerging technol
