Queer Data Studies

Untangles how data shapes and is shaped by queer worlds

Untangles how data shapes and is shaped by queer worlds

Data, perilous and powerful, is both a worldmaking and a dismantling force. The collection of data about queer lives and bodies, the consequences of data analysis for queer subjects, and considerations of privacy and consent often present ethical dilemmas even as queer data expands our understanding of who and what counts. The need for queer analyses and perspectives has taken on a new sense of urgency in light of hostile antiqueer policies by major technology companies, the security theater of airports, the disproportionate rates of policing queer people and people of color, digital surveillance in border security, and the proliferation of digital health records.

Gathering wide-ranging interdisciplinary conversations into one rich volume, Queer Data Studies challenges readers to rethink how the extraction, circulation, modeling, governance, and use of data affects queer subjects and, at the same time, to consider how the power of data might be harnessed in the service of queer ethics. Contributors take a capacious approach to data, drawing from a range of sources, including stories, sounds, medical data, police data, maps, and algorithmic modeling. This anthology engages intersectional, decolonial, feminist, queer, and trans research, advancing ongoing dialogues about data across the social sciences, humanities, and applied sciences.

Patrick Keilty is associate professor in the Faculty of Information and Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto. He is co-editor of the Feminist and Queer Information Studies Reader (Litwin Books, 2013).Herzig Rebecca :

Rebecca Herzig is professor of gender and sexuality studies at Bates College. She is the author of Suffering for Science: Reason and Sacrifice in Modern America (Rutgers University Press, 2006) and the coeditor of The Nature of Difference: Sciences of Race in the United States from Jefferson to Genomics (MIT Press, 2009).Subramaniam Banu :

Banu Subramaniam is professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the author of two award-winning books: Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism (Washington, 2019) and Ghost Stories for Darwin: The Science of Variation and the Politics of Diversity (Illinois, 2014).

Patrick Keilty is associate professor in the Faculty of Information and the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. He is coeditor of Feminist and Queer Information Studies Reader. Contributors: Ryan Conrad, Mathew Gagné, Gary Kafer, Harris Kornstein, Shaka McGlotten, Stephen Molldrem, Susanna Paasonen, Nikita Shepard, Jenny Sundén, Suisui Wang, and Lina Žigelytė

"[P]rovides a sprawling, multidisciplinary vision of what queer data studies could encompass—from data that directly addresses queerness to data about or adjacent to queer lives to the absolute refusal of data."

"Pushing readers to think beyond fixed forms, Keilty challenges researchers to think outside the box of traditional forms of research collection and consider the "other" in their approaches to analyzing queer data. This is a valuable manual for any individual desiring to research queer studies. It values the integrity of both the academic and queer communities and offers excellent strategies for collecting data on queer subjects."

"Deftly edited . . . In a moment where questions of queer visibility are once again at risk, Queer Data Studies might well serve as more than a theoretical addition; it could well become a guide for survival."

"Queer Data Studies critically analyzes current modes of collecting and analysing queer data through a capacious approach rather than simplifying data to numerical values. . . . Whether newcomers or seasoned researchers, readers will discover alternative insights and fresh perspectives, fostering a more profound comprehension of queer issues and methodological debates in critical data studies."

"What might a queer approach to data look like? Offering a multitude of replies and suprises, as a good queer collection would, this needed volume opens futures for queer data studies."—Michelle Murphy, author of The Economization of Life

"Through a series of daring, original, important case studies, Queer Data Studies proposes a novel concept that fundamentally challenges each of the terms it brings together. How can data be queer if queerness resists categorization and data demands categories? Timely, well researched, socially engaged, and overall a fantastic contribution to the fields of media studies, queer theory, and algorithmic analysis."—micha cárdenas, author of Poetic Operations: Trans of Color Art in Digital Media