The DISCO (Digital Inquiry, Speculation, Collaboration, and Optimism) Network is a collective of interdisciplinary researchers working to envision a new anti-racist and anti-ableist digital future. 

With funding support from the Mellon Foundation, DISCO convenes a national network of scholars who conduct cutting-edge research, offer critical analysis, and develop optimistic solutions at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, disability, technology, digital culture, and liberation. As scholars, we integrate critical humanistic methodologies to address current issues within the academy, the tech industry, and beyond. 

Housed within the Digital Studies Institute at the University of Michigan, we consist of four labs across four universities: 

- Digital Afterworlds Lab (PI: Lisa Nakamura, University of Michigan) 

- Humanities and Technoscience Lab (Co-PI: Rayvon Fouché; Northwestern University) 

- Digital Accessible Futures Lab (Co-PI: M. Remi Yergeau, Carleton University)

- Black Communication and Technology Lab (Co-PI: Catherine Knight Steele, University of Maryland-College Park). 

Each lab functions both independently and as part of the broader network, engaging in research and dialogue about the cultural implications of technology, racial inequality, histories of exclusion, disability justice, techno-ableism, and digital racial politics.

DISCO Network

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DISCO Network

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