Voices in Protest (VIP)

Programming Series

DISCO ‘Voices in Protest’ is a series of panels hosted by the DISCO Network and University of Michigan Digital Studies Institute, under the leadership of Lisa Nakamura.

Aimed to bring a new perspective to academic scholarship, this programming series invites scholars, public intellectuals, journalists, programmers, and technologists to the University of Michigan campus for public conversations about pressing issues in digital culture and justice. All events are free and open to the public.

All events are recorded and disseminated through short- and long-form videos on the DISCO Network YouTube channel and social media.

Events

  • Promotional flyer for the event titled "Is AI Inevitable? Insight from Hypecel vs. Technoskepticist Perspectives." Dark background with blue and yellow text and text outline

    Is AI Inevitable? Insight from Hypecel vs. Technoskepticist Perspectives

    Nina-Simone Edwards, Ngozi Harrison, & Stephanie (DJ) Jones in conversation with Rayvon Fouché

    November 5, 2026

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  • Promotional flyer for event titled "Refuse, Resist, Repair: Making Critical Moves in the Times of AI." It has a black background with yellow and purple squares and a purple grid

    Refuse, Resist, Repair: Making Critical Moves in the Times of AI

    Jenny Davis, Julián Posada, Apryl Williams, & Rua Williams in conversation with Catherine Knight Steele

    October 9, 2026

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  • Promotional graphic for the event "Feeling the Future." Has a dark red background with outlines of Asian-styled buildings in white

    Feeling the Future: Asian/Americanist Takes on Techno-Empire, Chinamaxxing, & the “American Century of Humiliation”

    Brian Chen, Julie Chu, Jasmine Ehrhardt, and Paul Kim in conversation with Lisa Nakamura

    September 23, 2026

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  • Against Surveillance & Spectacle: Building Global Resistance to Tech-Mediated Oppression

    Victoria Copeland, Megan Fereday, Kim Fernandes, Wells Lucas Santo, and Shin Yang in conversation with M. Remi Yergeau

    March 10, 2026

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  • Promotional graphic for the event "Content Creation and the End of Social Media." The background is a deep blue and mustard yellow highway on-ramp with bright streetlights at night.

    Content Creation and the End of Social Media

    Crystal Abidin, Brooke Erin Duffy, and Kelechi Okafor in conversation with Catherine Knight Steele

    February 26, 2026

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  • Promotional graphic for the event "Black Boys and the Future of Tech" featuring the headshots of four speakers along the bottom. The background is black with specks of neon green and a faded circuit design.

    Black Boys and the Future of Technology

    Jonathan Cropper, Kareem Edouard, and John Pasmore in conversation with Rayvon Fouché

    January 29, 2026

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  • Promotional graphic for the event "Diaspora Wars and Going 50/50" featuring the headshots of four speakers along the bottom. The upper half of the graphic is a tunnel with striped neon purple and black, while the bottom is light purple and abstract.

    Diaspora Wars and Going 50/50: Sowing Disunity in Black Communities Through Digital Propaganda

    Brooklyne Gipson, Jamilah Lemieux, and AE Stevenson in conversation with Catherine Knight Steele

    November 6, 2025

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  • Promotional graphic for the event "How to Survive Techno-Hellscapes" featuring the headshots of four speakers along the bottom. The upper half is black and deep red cables, while the bottom half features a distorted red and orange hallway graphic.

    How to Survive Techno-Hellscapes: On Crip Wisdom and Critique

    Beza Merid, Leah Laksmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Christa Teston, and The Cyborg Jillian Weise in conversation with M. Remi Yergeau

    October 16, 2025

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  • Promotional graphic for "Fear of Asian Tech: Chips, Platforms, and Social Networks" featuring headshots of the three panelists against a simple gradient blue and teal circuit background.

    CANCELLED: Fear of Asian Tech: Chips, Platforms, and Social Networks

    Janice Lobo Sapigao, Christopher Fan, and Tony Shyu in conversation with Lisa Nakamura


    September 25, 2025

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  • Promotional graphic for "Building the Indigenous Internet" featuring headshots of the three speakers, against a purple and black background. There's an intricate gold and orange circuit design to the right of the image.

    Building the Indigenous Internet

    Majerle Lister and Ashley Cordes in conversation with Lisa Nakamura

    April 14, 2025

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  • Promotional graphic for "TikTok, DeepSeek, and the Fear of Chinese Tech" event, featuring headshots of the three speakers against an abstracted design. The graphic is shades of TikTok's logo colors, teal and red.

    TikTok, DeepSeek and the Fear of Chinese Tech in Nationalist Times

    Tara Fickle, Ian Shin, and Jeff Yang in conversation with Lisa Nakamura

    March 31, 2025

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