The Future of Computational Social Science is Black: Welcome SICSS-Howard/Mathematica 2021
This blog post is the first of nine in a series called “The Future of Computational Social Science is Black” about SICSS-Howard/Mathematica 2021, the first Summer Institute in Computational Social Science held at a Historically Black College or University. As you go through this package of blogs you will experience the journey we took in 2021.
“The Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science (SICSS) were created to provide free training to the next generation of researchers at the intersection of social science and data science — and to incubate cutting-edge research across disciplinary boundaries.” As the first SICSS partner site at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), Howard University, SICSS-Howard/Mathematica was additionally focused on seeding and growing a depth of knowledge and appreciation for computational social science in underrepresented communities while serving those communities’ needs directly and unapologetically (as discussed in our previous blog) “Uncovering new keys to countering anti-Black racism and inequity using computational social science”.
SICSS-Howard/Mathematica welcomed 24 participants to a two-week institute focused on the alleviation of anti-Black racism and inequity. SICSS-Howard/Mathematica was convened virtually and synchronously by Howard University from June 14th to June 25th. The SICSS-Howard/Mathematica experience also included “Praxis to Power,” a unique, community and confidence building pre-institute which convened from June 12th to 13th.
SICSS-Howard/Mathematica consciously and consistently put the needs of emerging scholars of color first throughout the planning process and within the entirety of the institute. Several SICSS-Howard/Mathematica site innovations were introduced to foster community, build confidence, break down the inequity that is the norm for our participants in academe, and create something better.
“This institute has truly changed me as a researcher, and I will forever cherish these past two weeks. I have not been this excited about research in a long time, and that’s thanks to the truly diverse and multidisciplinary participants you admitted, the incredible Naniette and the event staff, and the insightful and brilliant speakers that were thoughtfully chosen to share their knowledge and experiences with us. Truly, I can’t thank you enough. As a person of color, there are no words to truly describe the impact of being validated every day and to be in a space where people embrace conversations about race and ethnicity and are passionate about making a change.”
Since this was my first time organizing a SICSS partner location, I decided to closely follow the SICSS main curriculum for the first week. Along the way, I also adhered to the SICSS promise of creating open-source materials by documenting all our work thoughtfully; posting links to videos and slides on our website to make the learning experience accessible to those present in our virtual Howard classroom and those following along around the world. In addition to those SICSS aligned choices, we also opted to introduce several Howard/Mathematica site-specific innovations. In the interest of space and time, I will leave the explanations of all our innovations to the aptly named blogs associated with them and just share a few outcomes of which we are immensely proud.
SICSS-Howard/Mathematica achieved the following in 2021:
Welcomed 24 participants for our two-week institute
Held Praxis to Power our two-day pre-institute designed to build confidence and challenge imposter syndrome
Boasted a range of 83.3% to 100% daily attendance for the duration of the institute. Mean daily attendance was 93.4%, median daily attendance was 95.8%, and the mode was 95.8%
Built and maintained a YouTube channel of 59 public videos (total length: 43 hours, 8 min, and 32 seconds) for repeat viewing by participants or interested parties, as well as several embargoed videos for use in promotional efforts in the future
Sent 108 tweets, 412 total likes, and 132 retweets from early January to the beginning of July
Recruited and managed five Event Team members and 24 Professional TAs
Presented Howard University President Wayne A.I. Fredrick served as our opening plenary speaker
Moderated three “real talk” panels representatives with Terri Adams-Fuller, PhD, Britany Gatewood, PhD, Brandon Hogan, PhD., and Bahiyyah Muhammad, PhD from Howard University, Lauren Amos, Naihobe Gonzalez, Cleo Jacobs Johnson, Otis Jennings, Paul Shattuck, and Shaun N. Stevenson from Mathematica, and SICSS Alumni Naniette Coleman, Jae Yeon Kim PhD, Zanele Munyikwa, Demetrius Murphy, Malebo Sephodi
Presented Paul Decker PhD, the President of Mathematica as our closing plenary speaker
Welcomed Timnit Gebru PhD, Fortune’s Top 50 Leaders in the World in 2021 as our inaugural SICSS-Howard/Mathematica keynote speaker
Moderated 10 student presentations with feedback on the Crown Act, healthcare, policing, COVID-19 vaccination, immigrant representation, African-American Vernacular English, migration, Black Lives Matter, school resource officers, and incarceration
Featured a total of four guest speakers with industry experience and/or academia: Ruha Benjamin PhD, Laura Nelson PhD, Naomi Sugie PhD, & Chris Wheat PhD
Hosted 7 Bite-sized lunchtime talks from Wiki Education, the Data Nutrition Project, California Policy Lab, FakeNet AI and FactSpace West Africa, Black in AI, the University of California Publisher Negotiation Team, vary CSS
Ran 10 daily pulse surveys, one pre and one post-institute survey, and one skills-focused survey
Providing ongoing support for both individual and group participants via research micro-grant funding.
We think that championing the thoughtful creation of a more diverse computational social science community is crucial in a world where this research leads to the development of academic papers that describe our experience and real world policies that can directly impact our health and wellbeing. SICSS-Howard/Mathematica set out to help guide burgeoning scholars in this field and light the way for all efforts to grow a method deeply mindful of the importance of diverse voices and an ecosystem of SICSS sites built on diversity and focused on civic good. But don’t take my word for it, please enjoy reflections from three of our amazing participants.
The first Summer Institute in Computational Social Science at a Historically Black College or University, co-sponsored by Howard University and Mathematica and conceptualized, founded, and organized by SICSS-Princeton 2019 alumna and Berkeley PhD Candidate Naniette H. Coleman, reached its conclusion after a final “real talk” group debrief where 22 participants danced a little, cried a little, laughed a lot, and shared what the experience meant to them. Once an actual mic was dropped, we knew it was time to say goodbye, until next time.
What we learned from this process was there was a hunger for this type of skill-based methodological training for members of the global majority, but several myths, challenges, and constraints exist that prevent more widespread participation. I believe we developed an approach that can be duplicated. I welcome the chance to share what we have learned and welcome and appreciate requests to discuss, write about, and instruct others on this work in greater detail as well. I can be reached via email at nhcoleman@berkeley.edu or through my website naniettecoleman.com.
The SICSS-Howard/Mathematica partner site was made possible by the forward-thinking leadership of our founders Matt Salganik and Chris Bail and the exceptional generosity of Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick and Mathematica President Paul Decker. This program would never have taken flight without the tireless dedication of many exceptional people at Howard University, Mathematica, and the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Privacy/Coleman Lab at Berkeley. I am eternally grateful to them all, but especially to the brilliant and talented Calvin Hadley and Akira Bell.
For more information about SICSS-Howard/Mathematica 2022 and the application procedure, check out our website. Also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and join our email list!
About the author
Naniette H. Coleman is a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of California Berkeley and a multi-year UC-National Laboratory Graduate Fellow (Los Alamos). She is the only social scientist selected for this distinction in the history of the program. Naniette is also the founder and lead organizer of the first Summer Institute in Computational Social Science at a Historically Black College of University, SICSS-Howard/Mathematica 2021. Naniette’s work sits at the intersection of the sociology of culture and organizations and focuses on cybersecurity, surveillance, and privacy in the US context. Specifically, Naniette’s research examines how organizations assess risk, make decisions, and respond to data breaches and organizational compliance with state, federal, and international privacy laws. Naniette holds a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Democracy, Politics, and Institutions from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and both an M.A. in Economics and a B.A. in Communication from the University at Buffalo, SUNY. A non-traditional student, Naniette’s prior professional experience includes local, state, and federal service, as well as work for two international organizations, and two universities. I welcome the opportunity to write about and talk about my research and my efforts to make CSS more diverse. Please reach out via my website: naniettecoleman.com.
