Transgressive Mobilities: Information Practices and Technological Protocols at the Margins

In this talk, I present qualitative and interpretive research that examines information inequality in the context of an increasing presence of technology in everyday life. My work exposes how social context and power dynamics are borne out in preferences for and uses of technologies, and seeks to explain why some groups use these technologies in radically different ways than others. I focus on findings from my dissertation, Information Tactics and Urban Spaces: Portraits of Transnational Migration. Key questions guiding this project include: how do transnational migrants make sense of new urban environments? What are the spatial and temporal dimensions of informational and technological practices among transnational migrants in new urban spaces? My objective in this research is to speak to (as well as contest) dominant constructions of digital divides, transnational cosmopolitanism and information inequality. I situate this research in the larger context of a research agenda focused on technological appropriation and non-dominant groups, including research on underground music communities and extreme body modification. Finally, I outline future areas of investigation that address imbalances in access to information, technological appropriation and community ethics.