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CSLG organises a seminar by Leon Morenas

CSLG organises a seminar by Leon Morenas

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CSLG organises a seminar by Leon Morenas
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CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE

Jawaharlal Nehru University

 

SEMINAR SERIES

 

LEON MORENAS

 Associate Professor of Architecture,

School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.

 

On

 

  Citizenship in the Age of Big Data

 

 Abstract : This paper explores the relationship between citizenship and big data, drawing upon the Indian Supreme Court’s verdict that citizenship is not restricted to nationhood (in the sense of being a citizen of a country), but rather confers broader entitlements; critical among them, privacy. The smartphone is one among many (linked) devices through which our privacy is vitiated in the gathering—voluntary and involuntary—of our information by large corporations. While we revel in the perceived freedoms this gives us, corporations leverage our information for profit by aggregating it across sources. Once aggregated, this information is manipulable in alarming ways, as was demonstrated by the (ab)use of information in US elections, and various ‘poverty management’ applications seen globally. The aggregation of information into “stacks,” is the final point discussed in this presentation, with specific reference to India. Stacks enable the assimilation of horizontal and vertical technologies under the control of a narrow set of stakeholders, challenging the freedoms and entitlements of citizenship in vexed and irreversible ways.

 

3.00 PM, Thursday, 17 January 2019

Conference Room, CSLG, JNU

 

About the Speaker: Leon Morenas is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi. He is an architect with a Master’s in Urban Design from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and a PhD in Architectural Sciences—with a specialization in Informatics—from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York. Morenas’ research uses the disciplinary lens of science and technology studies to understand the relationship of technology with contemporary design, architecture and urban planning. He recently concluded a two year fellowship at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla where he worked on a project entitled “Mohallas and Smart Cities: Post-Colonial Development in Delhi.” He was a World Social Sciences Fellow in Sustainable Urbanization (2014) and Programme Coordinator of the Masters in Social Design at Ambedkar University, Delhi (2013).

  

 PLEASE JOIN US FOR TEA AFTER THE SEMINAR

ALL ARE WELCOME

A warm welcome to the modified and updated website of the Centre for East Asian Studies. The East Asian region has been at the forefront of several path-breaking changes since 1970s beginning with the redefining the development architecture with its State-led development model besides emerging as a major region in the global politics and a key hub of the sophisticated technologies. The Centre is one of the thirteen Centres of the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi that provides a holistic understanding of the region.

Initially, established as a Centre for Chinese and Japanese Studies, it subsequently grew to include Korean Studies as well. At present there are eight faculty members in the Centre. Several distinguished faculty who have now retired include the late Prof. Gargi Dutt, Prof. P.A.N. Murthy, Prof. G.P. Deshpande, Dr. Nranarayan Das, Prof. R.R. Krishnan and Prof. K.V. Kesavan. Besides, Dr. Madhu Bhalla served at the Centre in Chinese Studies Programme during 1994-2006. In addition, Ms. Kamlesh Jain and Dr. M. M. Kunju served the Centre as the Documentation Officers in Chinese and Japanese Studies respectively.

The academic curriculum covers both modern and contemporary facets of East Asia as each scholar specializes in an area of his/her interest in the region. The integrated course involves two semesters of classes at the M. Phil programme and a dissertation for the M. Phil and a thesis for Ph. D programme respectively. The central objective is to impart an interdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of history, foreign policy, government and politics, society and culture and political economy of the respective areas. Students can explore new and emerging themes such as East Asian regionalism, the evolving East Asian Community, the rise of China, resurgence of Japan and the prospects for reunification of the Korean peninsula. Additionally, the Centre lays great emphasis on the building of language skills. The background of scholars includes mostly from the social science disciplines; History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, International Relations and language.

Several students of the centre have been recipients of prestigious research fellowships awarded by Japan Foundation, Mombusho (Ministry of Education, Government of Japan), Saburo Okita Memorial Fellowship, Nippon Foundation, Korea Foundation, Nehru Memorial Fellowship, and Fellowship from the Chinese and Taiwanese Governments. Besides, students from Japan receive fellowship from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.