Ayona Datta
@ayonadatta.bsky.social
Prof of Human Geography, FAcSS, University College London, UK
PI: ERC Adv Grant https://www.regionalfutures.org
Researching #digitalisation #urbanisation #futures #globalsouth
Editor: urbangeography.bsky.social
Web: https://ayonadatta.com
PI: ERC Adv Grant https://www.regionalfutures.org
Researching #digitalisation #urbanisation #futures #globalsouth
Editor: urbangeography.bsky.social
Web: https://ayonadatta.com
Pinned
Ayona Datta
@ayonadatta.bsky.social
· Apr 1
Seven UCL academics elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences
Seven academics from across UCL have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences in recognition of their excellence in fields including economics, education and gender inequality, with w...
www.ucl.ac.uk
Very honoured to be elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences @acadsocsciences.bsky.social
www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ap...
www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ap...
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Grateful to present my work at Regional Futures conference at UCL @uclgeography.bsky.social 🌍✨
So much to learn, share & take back, from thought-provoking panels to inspiring conversations in between.
Huge thanks to @ayonadatta.bsky.social & the team for making this space so rich & welcoming!
So much to learn, share & take back, from thought-provoking panels to inspiring conversations in between.
Huge thanks to @ayonadatta.bsky.social & the team for making this space so rich & welcoming!
September 3, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Grateful to present my work at Regional Futures conference at UCL @uclgeography.bsky.social 🌍✨
So much to learn, share & take back, from thought-provoking panels to inspiring conversations in between.
Huge thanks to @ayonadatta.bsky.social & the team for making this space so rich & welcoming!
So much to learn, share & take back, from thought-provoking panels to inspiring conversations in between.
Huge thanks to @ayonadatta.bsky.social & the team for making this space so rich & welcoming!
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Congratulations to @ayonadatta.bsky.social and Fenna Imara Hoefsloot! Their #OpenAccess book Informational Peripheries published earlier this week. Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4 #UrbanTheory #Digitalisation #DataPolitics
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
bit.ly
August 7, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Congratulations to @ayonadatta.bsky.social and Fenna Imara Hoefsloot! Their #OpenAccess book Informational Peripheries published earlier this week. Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4 #UrbanTheory #Digitalisation #DataPolitics
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Informational Peripheries is out now with @uclpress.bsky.social! It brings together critical perspectives on how information flows (or doesn’t) across the edges of systems: archives, infrastructures, digital divides, and more.
Edited with @ayonadatta.bsky.social 🙌
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
Edited with @ayonadatta.bsky.social 🙌
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
uclpress.co.uk
August 5, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Informational Peripheries is out now with @uclpress.bsky.social! It brings together critical perspectives on how information flows (or doesn’t) across the edges of systems: archives, infrastructures, digital divides, and more.
Edited with @ayonadatta.bsky.social 🙌
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
Edited with @ayonadatta.bsky.social 🙌
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
Our 'Informational Peripheries' book is now published and out for the world to read in paperback and online free #openaccess.
Edited with @fennaimara.bsky.social
It has been a pleasure working with @uclpress.bsky.social Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4
@uclgeography.bsky.social
Edited with @fennaimara.bsky.social
It has been a pleasure working with @uclpress.bsky.social Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4
@uclgeography.bsky.social
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
bit.ly
August 5, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Our 'Informational Peripheries' book is now published and out for the world to read in paperback and online free #openaccess.
Edited with @fennaimara.bsky.social
It has been a pleasure working with @uclpress.bsky.social Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4
@uclgeography.bsky.social
Edited with @fennaimara.bsky.social
It has been a pleasure working with @uclpress.bsky.social Read & download free at: bit.ly/4l76QR4
@uclgeography.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
🌍 Fieldwork in the Global South: @ayonadatta.bsky.social maps how digital tech reshapes urban peripheries, from Nairobi to Mumbai.
🛰️ Read the full story: tinyurl.com/ucl-digimap
#UCLGeography #Fieldwork #UrbanGeography #DigitalUrbanisation @ucl.ac.uk @erc.europa.eu
🛰️ Read the full story: tinyurl.com/ucl-digimap
#UCLGeography #Fieldwork #UrbanGeography #DigitalUrbanisation @ucl.ac.uk @erc.europa.eu
July 31, 2025 at 11:52 AM
🌍 Fieldwork in the Global South: @ayonadatta.bsky.social maps how digital tech reshapes urban peripheries, from Nairobi to Mumbai.
🛰️ Read the full story: tinyurl.com/ucl-digimap
#UCLGeography #Fieldwork #UrbanGeography #DigitalUrbanisation @ucl.ac.uk @erc.europa.eu
🛰️ Read the full story: tinyurl.com/ucl-digimap
#UCLGeography #Fieldwork #UrbanGeography #DigitalUrbanisation @ucl.ac.uk @erc.europa.eu
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Our first keynote of #DGRGSymposium2025 was given by the amazing @ayonadatta.bsky.social of UCL:
Fantasies of territorial calculability: Automated Ignorance (AI) in digitalising land in the global south
Fantasies of territorial calculability: Automated Ignorance (AI) in digitalising land in the global south
June 19, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Our first keynote of #DGRGSymposium2025 was given by the amazing @ayonadatta.bsky.social of UCL:
Fantasies of territorial calculability: Automated Ignorance (AI) in digitalising land in the global south
Fantasies of territorial calculability: Automated Ignorance (AI) in digitalising land in the global south
Reposted by Ayona Datta
'Last month...something else happened in academia: Yale-NUS College, a liberal arts college founded by the National University of Singapore and Yale University in 2012, quietly ceased to exist. And with it, thousands of books and DVDs disappeared.'
Yale-NUS’ book dumping was a tiny crime against culture
A library is not a fast-fashion store. You don’t discard last season’s items because nobody wanted them, says Andrew Hui
www.timeshighereducation.com
June 6, 2025 at 6:11 AM
'Last month...something else happened in academia: Yale-NUS College, a liberal arts college founded by the National University of Singapore and Yale University in 2012, quietly ceased to exist. And with it, thousands of books and DVDs disappeared.'
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Why the Corderie felt dated: it was rife with the same kind of mandatory solutionism that has gotten us nowhere for decades.
“Ratti’s sprawling [Venice] biennale is awash in the optimism of design solutions. Even the path to population collapse is paved in innovation.”
— @novakovicto.bsky.social
“Ratti’s sprawling [Venice] biennale is awash in the optimism of design solutions. Even the path to population collapse is paved in innovation.”
— @novakovicto.bsky.social
Carlo Ratti’s Abundance Agenda
At the Venice Corderie, a staggering quantity of installations fosters a messy synthesis of (human and artificial) intelligence and folly.
www.azuremagazine.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Why the Corderie felt dated: it was rife with the same kind of mandatory solutionism that has gotten us nowhere for decades.
“Ratti’s sprawling [Venice] biennale is awash in the optimism of design solutions. Even the path to population collapse is paved in innovation.”
— @novakovicto.bsky.social
“Ratti’s sprawling [Venice] biennale is awash in the optimism of design solutions. Even the path to population collapse is paved in innovation.”
— @novakovicto.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Submission to our special issue on Authoritarianism in the Digital Age close tomorrow. Get your proposal in! More details here: journals.sagepub.com/page/dds/cal...
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
May 15, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Submission to our special issue on Authoritarianism in the Digital Age close tomorrow. Get your proposal in! More details here: journals.sagepub.com/page/dds/cal...
Reposted by Ayona Datta
🖋️ Are you a @ucl.ac.uk Geography PhD Student or Early Career Researcher?
Join the Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research workshop on 29 May: bit.ly/Linescapes
#UCLGeography #GeographyPhD #EarlyCareerResearcher #ResearchWorkshop #SketchingInGeography #Linescapes
Join the Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research workshop on 29 May: bit.ly/Linescapes
#UCLGeography #GeographyPhD #EarlyCareerResearcher #ResearchWorkshop #SketchingInGeography #Linescapes
"Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research"
We invite UCL PhD Students and Early Career Researchers -both physical and human geography—to sign up for our interactive workshop: “ Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustration in Geographical ...
bit.ly
May 12, 2025 at 11:04 AM
🖋️ Are you a @ucl.ac.uk Geography PhD Student or Early Career Researcher?
Join the Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research workshop on 29 May: bit.ly/Linescapes
#UCLGeography #GeographyPhD #EarlyCareerResearcher #ResearchWorkshop #SketchingInGeography #Linescapes
Join the Linescapes: The Role of Sketches and Illustrations in Geographical Research workshop on 29 May: bit.ly/Linescapes
#UCLGeography #GeographyPhD #EarlyCareerResearcher #ResearchWorkshop #SketchingInGeography #Linescapes
📣 New book cover!!!!
INFORMATIONAL PERIPHERIES: RETHINKING THE URBAN IN A DIGITAL AGE
Free OA with a fantastic lineup of authors.
It's been a pleasure working with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Shoutout to @uclpress.bsky.social for being so supportive and organised.
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
INFORMATIONAL PERIPHERIES: RETHINKING THE URBAN IN A DIGITAL AGE
Free OA with a fantastic lineup of authors.
It's been a pleasure working with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Shoutout to @uclpress.bsky.social for being so supportive and organised.
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
uclpress.co.uk
April 28, 2025 at 11:04 AM
📣 New book cover!!!!
INFORMATIONAL PERIPHERIES: RETHINKING THE URBAN IN A DIGITAL AGE
Free OA with a fantastic lineup of authors.
It's been a pleasure working with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Shoutout to @uclpress.bsky.social for being so supportive and organised.
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
INFORMATIONAL PERIPHERIES: RETHINKING THE URBAN IN A DIGITAL AGE
Free OA with a fantastic lineup of authors.
It's been a pleasure working with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Shoutout to @uclpress.bsky.social for being so supportive and organised.
uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Cover reveal! ✨
Our new book, 'Informational Peripheries: Rethinking the Urban in a Digital Age,' will be available this August! Get a first look here: uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
There will also be a digital open access version 🙌
@uclpress.bsky.social @ayonadatta.bsky.social
Our new book, 'Informational Peripheries: Rethinking the Urban in a Digital Age,' will be available this August! Get a first look here: uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
There will also be a digital open access version 🙌
@uclpress.bsky.social @ayonadatta.bsky.social
Informational Peripheries
Urbanisation and urban life in a digital age needs to be examined through a lens of information – encompassing both its politics and its geographies. The periphery in an information age is located sim...
uclpress.co.uk
April 28, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Cover reveal! ✨
Our new book, 'Informational Peripheries: Rethinking the Urban in a Digital Age,' will be available this August! Get a first look here: uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
There will also be a digital open access version 🙌
@uclpress.bsky.social @ayonadatta.bsky.social
Our new book, 'Informational Peripheries: Rethinking the Urban in a Digital Age,' will be available this August! Get a first look here: uclpress.co.uk/book/informa...
There will also be a digital open access version 🙌
@uclpress.bsky.social @ayonadatta.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
> The debates on ‘Silicon Savannah’:
“The state as auteur: Timing digitisation in Africa’s Silicon Savannah” by @ayonadatta.bsky.social & @fennaimara.bsky.social
- De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Guide
Edited by Mareile Kaufmann & @heidimorklomell.bsky.social
“The state as auteur: Timing digitisation in Africa’s Silicon Savannah” by @ayonadatta.bsky.social & @fennaimara.bsky.social
- De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Guide
Edited by Mareile Kaufmann & @heidimorklomell.bsky.social
April 21, 2025 at 8:42 AM
> The debates on ‘Silicon Savannah’:
“The state as auteur: Timing digitisation in Africa’s Silicon Savannah” by @ayonadatta.bsky.social & @fennaimara.bsky.social
- De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Guide
Edited by Mareile Kaufmann & @heidimorklomell.bsky.social
“The state as auteur: Timing digitisation in Africa’s Silicon Savannah” by @ayonadatta.bsky.social & @fennaimara.bsky.social
- De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Guide
Edited by Mareile Kaufmann & @heidimorklomell.bsky.social
Look forward to delivering a keynote on 'Fantasies of Artificial everything: Automated Ignorance (AI) in the making of Digitalising States" in workshop organised by Singapore Management University (SMU) Urban Institute.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Q6-N...
drive.google.com/file/d/1Q6-N...
Programme Outline Technocratic Governance Workshop.pdf
drive.google.com
April 21, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Look forward to delivering a keynote on 'Fantasies of Artificial everything: Automated Ignorance (AI) in the making of Digitalising States" in workshop organised by Singapore Management University (SMU) Urban Institute.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Q6-N...
drive.google.com/file/d/1Q6-N...
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Very honoured to co-author first article 'State as Auteur' in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
These are followed by the first article by @ayonadatta.bsky.social and @fennaimara.bsky.social advocating for consideration of time and timing for understanding statecraft in Kenya's Silicon Savannah journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... 3/7
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
April 18, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Very honoured to co-author first article 'State as Auteur' in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Commentaries on this article engage with, expand, and critique the article's position, further complicating the novel agenda it brings to research into digital societies. This is complemented by a response from Datta and Hoefsloot continuing this dialogue.... 4/7
April 17, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Commentaries on this article engage with, expand, and critique the article's position, further complicating the novel agenda it brings to research into digital societies. This is complemented by a response from Datta and Hoefsloot continuing this dialogue.... 4/7
Reposted by Ayona Datta
The first edition of Dialogues on Digital Society is out at last. It features an editorial by the Editorial team, @kylzjarrett.bsky.social, @robkitchin.bsky.social, @pinkydigital.bsky.social, Jing Hiah, and @steelecat717.bsky.social .... 1/7 #DDS @journals.sagepub.com
journals.sagepub.com/home/DDS
journals.sagepub.com/home/DDS
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
April 17, 2025 at 8:30 AM
The first edition of Dialogues on Digital Society is out at last. It features an editorial by the Editorial team, @kylzjarrett.bsky.social, @robkitchin.bsky.social, @pinkydigital.bsky.social, Jing Hiah, and @steelecat717.bsky.social .... 1/7 #DDS @journals.sagepub.com
journals.sagepub.com/home/DDS
journals.sagepub.com/home/DDS
Very honoured to co-author first article 'State as Auteur' in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
These are followed by the first article by @ayonadatta.bsky.social and @fennaimara.bsky.social advocating for consideration of time and timing for understanding statecraft in Kenya's Silicon Savannah journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... 3/7
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
April 18, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Very honoured to co-author first article 'State as Auteur' in @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Thanks @robkitchin.bsky.social for invitation & commentators @jpaddie.bsky.social @xazaaradjame.bsky.social @princeguma.bsky.social @andretwp.bsky.social Jack Odeo, Nancy Odendaal.
with @fennaimara.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
Excited that our research article with commentaries and response is out now in the inaugural issue of @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social! Honoured to be amongst so many people I look up to in the launch of this great new journal. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
@ayonadatta.bsky.social
@ayonadatta.bsky.social
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
April 17, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Excited that our research article with commentaries and response is out now in the inaugural issue of @dialoguesdigsoc.bsky.social! Honoured to be amongst so many people I look up to in the launch of this great new journal. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
@ayonadatta.bsky.social
@ayonadatta.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
These are followed by the first article by @ayonadatta.bsky.social and @fennaimara.bsky.social advocating for consideration of time and timing for understanding statecraft in Kenya's Silicon Savannah journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... 3/7
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
journals.sagepub.com
April 17, 2025 at 8:30 AM
These are followed by the first article by @ayonadatta.bsky.social and @fennaimara.bsky.social advocating for consideration of time and timing for understanding statecraft in Kenya's Silicon Savannah journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... 3/7
Reposted by Ayona Datta
UCL Sociology Network PhD Inaugural Student Conference 2025 (3 June). This 1 day conference will be an exciting opportunity for PhDs to engage with doctoral research from 24 UK universities across a range of disciplines, all with a focus on sociological research / methodology tinyurl.com/5hbpyx9e
April 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM
UCL Sociology Network PhD Inaugural Student Conference 2025 (3 June). This 1 day conference will be an exciting opportunity for PhDs to engage with doctoral research from 24 UK universities across a range of disciplines, all with a focus on sociological research / methodology tinyurl.com/5hbpyx9e
The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-staggeri... #Anthropology #Computing #Environment via @mitpress.bsky.social
The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud
Anthropologist Steven Gonzalez Monserrate draws on five years of research and ethnographic fieldwork in server farms to illustrate some of the diverse environmental impacts of data storage.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The Staggering Ecological Impacts of Computation and the Cloud thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/the-staggeri... #Anthropology #Computing #Environment via @mitpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Ayona Datta
'Bluesky has overtaken its flailing rival X in hosting posts related to new academic research, indicating the platform is fast becoming the go-to place for scholars to share their work.'
X’s dominance ‘over’ as Bluesky becomes new hub for research
Data indicates more scholars turning to alternative social media site to post about their work after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover
www.timeshighereducation.com
April 9, 2025 at 7:14 AM
'Bluesky has overtaken its flailing rival X in hosting posts related to new academic research, indicating the platform is fast becoming the go-to place for scholars to share their work.'
Reposted by Ayona Datta
🚨 Job Alert!
We're hiring a Project Administrative Officer for the Regional Futures project! Join the team and help drive research on digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South.
Apply by 22 April 2025! 🌍
🔗 tinyurl.com/ucl-rf
#GeographyJobs #UCLCareers #UrbanStudies #Digitalisation
We're hiring a Project Administrative Officer for the Regional Futures project! Join the team and help drive research on digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South.
Apply by 22 April 2025! 🌍
🔗 tinyurl.com/ucl-rf
#GeographyJobs #UCLCareers #UrbanStudies #Digitalisation
April 7, 2025 at 11:07 AM
🚨 Job Alert!
We're hiring a Project Administrative Officer for the Regional Futures project! Join the team and help drive research on digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South.
Apply by 22 April 2025! 🌍
🔗 tinyurl.com/ucl-rf
#GeographyJobs #UCLCareers #UrbanStudies #Digitalisation
We're hiring a Project Administrative Officer for the Regional Futures project! Join the team and help drive research on digitalisation and urbanisation in the Global South.
Apply by 22 April 2025! 🌍
🔗 tinyurl.com/ucl-rf
#GeographyJobs #UCLCareers #UrbanStudies #Digitalisation
We are hiring a Project Administrative Officer in the @erc.europa.eu funded REGFUT project. Check out the advert below 👇 to apply.
More details on the project here: www.regionalfutures.org
More details on the project here: www.regionalfutures.org
April 9, 2025 at 4:10 AM
We are hiring a Project Administrative Officer in the @erc.europa.eu funded REGFUT project. Check out the advert below 👇 to apply.
More details on the project here: www.regionalfutures.org
More details on the project here: www.regionalfutures.org