Dr Liam Berriman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Social Work here, at the University of Sussex.

On the 17th of May, 1-2:30pm, speaking as a member of the Sussex Humanities Lab, he will join us here at CORTH to discuss his recent research into the datafication of children’s lives. 

“How data intervenes with children’s lives: looking at childhood data practices in contemporary and historical perspective”:

Over the last decade, there has been an intensification of data collected on children, particularly through digital technologies created and owned by private tech companies. Such technologies are increasingly used to monitor everything from children’s behaviour at school to their body weight and physical activity. This rapid growth of data on and about children has been described by Lupton and Williamson (2017) as the ‘datafication’ of childhood, and has led to growing concerns about how data has become a tool for surveillance – and intervention – in children’s lives.

In this seminar, Liam will ask whether the datafication of childhood is a recent invention, or whether it has existed in some form for much longer period of time. Taking an historical look at childhood studies, he will draw on examples of the datafication of childhood from across the mid-19^th to early 21^st century, that help us to understand how the present moment of mass digital surveillance of children’s lives has come about. Ultimately, he will argue that a historical perspective of childhood is vital for understanding the long-term datafication of children’s lives.    

All are welcome to attend this event, which will be held via Zoom. 

Register on Eventbrite to recieve the link.