automating black joy -a disco co(lab)

with support from the Just Tech Fellowship, as part of the Social Science Research Council

est. 2025

DISCO CO(LAB) is a new series of inter-institutional collaborative research projects hosted by the Black Communication and Technology (BCaT) Lab at the University of Maryland. We are seeking collaborators from across the U.S. and beyond to participate in DISCO CO(LAB).

Automating Black Joy is a project that points a critical lens toward the future of AI. We examine automation and AI through the lens of Black feminist inquiry and toward the goal of liberation and joy. A goal of the project is the development of a multi-generational research team from high school students through University faculty to consider the relationship between Black joy and automation via communication scholarship. By researching the implications of AI in education, politics, media, and the environment, our collaborators will collectively imagine possibilities for liberation. Together, we will build, write, and create using microgrants, skills workshops, and research teams over the next academic year. This collaboration will be led by Dr. Catherine Knight Steele, Director of the BCaT lab and an Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Maryland and a 2024-26 Just Tech Fellow.

want to be a part of the automating black joy project?

Feel free to check out our information session slides to see what we’ll be focusing on this semester!

book club

The BCaT Book Club is the first component in the Automating Black Joy future collaborative project. Join us for conversations about theory and practice. We will consider speculative fiction, critical design, the historical role of Black skepticism, and more in pointing a critical lens toward the future of AI. By reading about the implications of AI in education, politics, media, and the environment, we will begin to collectively imagine possibilities for liberation.

have a Suggestion for book club?

materials

wednesday march 12th

Theme: Black Joy

wednesday march 26th

Theme:Black Feminist Speculation

wednesday april 2nd

Theme: AI and Liberation

wednesday april 9th

Theme: AI and Liberation

wednesday april 16th

Theme: AI and Skepticism

wednesday april 23rd

Theme: AI and Skepticism

wednesday april 30th

theme: Speculative Futures

wednesday may 7th

theme: Speculative Futures

frequently asked questions

  • Anyone who is interested! This is inclusive of artists, creatives, academics, community members, and more, at any career stage/level of study and at any institution. The BCaT Lab will provide training, support, and mentorship for undergraduate and graduate students throughout the research process. Options for international participation are available.

  • Events will be held in the BCaT Lab (University of Maryland, Skinner 3115) with an option to attend virtually via Zoom. The Zoom link is the same for all BCaT Lab events.

  • Each DISCO CO(LAB) project will run over the course of an academic year (two semesters) and conclude with a hybrid retreat for collaborators to finalize deliverables. Opportunities for longer participation are available. For the Black Homeplaces project, we will begin in fall 2024 and hope to deliver outputs in the summer of 2024.

  • Collaborators will regularly attend a weekly DISCO CO(LAB) session to engage in communal learning, participate in co-working, and attend practical application workshops throughout the academic year. Each session will be 1-2 hours.

  • Potential outputs include artistic and creative collaborations (e.g., physical and digital renderings, audiovisual materials such as short films), essays, papers and stories (e.g., conference papers, public scholarship, journal articles), and digital humanities projects (e.g., interactive AR renderings, podcasts, and websites).

  • Beginning in Fall 2024, prospective collaborators should regularly attend BCaT Lab Bookclub to begin engaging with relevant art exhibitions, films, and readings, learn more about the project, and build community with other DISCO CO(LAB) collaborators. BCaT Bookclub is hosted weekly on Wednesdays from 12 PM - 1 PM at the BCaT Lab space at the University of Maryland (Skinner 3115) and on Zoom. Find out more on the BCaT Lab’s website.

  • For questions about DISCO CO(LAB), please contact Rianna Walcott, Associate Director of the BCaT Lab, at rwalcott@umd.edu.