Infrastructure Colonialism

Dhanashree Thorat, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Mississippi State University
February 18, 2022
12-2pm CST

Global Internet connectivity today relies on a network of fiber optic cable lines traveling underwater between continents. This talk traces the imprint of colonialism on this material infrastructure of the Internet from Victorian telegraph cable lines to data initiatives by modern-day Internet empires like Facebook. At stake are important issues of infrastructural sovereignty for postcolonial nations, and a broader question of who controls the infrastructure intended to deliver Internet access worldwide.

Dr. Dhanashree Thorat is an Assistant Professor of English at Mississippi State University. Her research is situated at the intersection of Asian American Studies, Postcolonial Studies, and Digital Humanities. Broadly, she examines how colonial and racial ideologies shape the technological imagination, specifically in technical infrastructures, platforms, and policies. Dhanashree is a founding Executive Council member of the Center for Digital Humanities, Pune in India.

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