Voices in Protest (VIP)

Programming Series

DISCO ‘Voices in Protest’ is a new series of panels hosted by the Digital Afterworlds Lab (PI: Lisa Nakamura). Aimed to bring a new perspective to academic scholarship, this programming series will invite scholars, public intellectuals, journalists, programmers, and technologists to the University of Michigan campus for public conversations about pressing issues in digital culture and justice. These events will be recorded and broadcasted through different digital platforms, such as short- and long-form videos or podcasts.

Events

  • 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 "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.

    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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