Self-tracking. Biohacking. Personal informatics. Quantified self. The contemporary “quantified self” movement makes claims of “self-knowledge through numbers” and improving health and human welfare. There are clearly other elements to self-tracking culture that deserve critical investigation. What does the self become through the lens of data? What is the dark side of data that can be used against us, and without regard for social justice and equality? This multidisciplinary course takes both a theoretical and a practical look at the pressing issue of data aggregation about human beings. It looks to the past for historical forms of self-quantification and to the future of a rapidly expanding globalized landscape of app tracking and wearable technologies. With the question of human data in mind, the course examines the unsure futures of humanity in a variety of domains: medicine and aging, education, the arts, marketing, and the Internet of Things. Students will situate themselves critically within this increasingly dense data landscape by creating data about themselves that can be analyzed and interpreted using a variety of data visualization and storytelling frameworks.

Core: Colloquium (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Sections (Fall 2023)

CCOL-UH 1059Q-000 (22917)
08/29/2023 – 12/15/2023 Tue,Thu
12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)
at Abu Dhabi
Instructed by Wrisley, David