In Good Company

In Good Company is an initiative raising awareness and offering support to industry-independent scholars facing targeted harassment for their research. The initiative is a joint effort between University of Michigan’s Center for Ethics, Society and Computing, Cornell’s CAT Lab and MIT’s Data + Feminism Lab.

Many industry-independent scholars researching technology and society are facing attacks for their work. In the last year, journalists and politicians have been subpoenaing university records and exposing them to journalists who write hit pieces naming individual scholars — creating the conditions for targeted harassment. When people experience this harassment, it makes them feel afraid and alone. Research shows that people often reduce their public engagement, change the focus of their work entirely, or even change careers as a result. This is especially challenging for junior scholars, including undergraduates and graduate students, who have their lives and careers ahead of them.

As a designer on the team, I created a set of greeting cards introducing scholars who persevered despite threats and opposition against their work and the positive impact they achieved as a result. The cards will be used to facilitate educational workshops and hold words of encouragement written by workshop participants to be mailed to current researchers under attack.

(Created with Procreate and Illustrator)