Dr James Allen-Robertson
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Email
jallenh@essex.ac.uk -
Location
6.330, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
See Moodle for Details
Profile
Biography
Digital Sociologist and Computational Social Scientist interested in tech cultures, far-right radicalisation, radical online cultures, and the development of new digital methods using data science. My current projects are focussed on mapping and studying radical far-right tech cultures and the political ideologies of tech elites. Methodologically I focus on computationally grounded qualitative approaches, using large-scale text and network analysis to explore unusual and complex non-traditional datasets to support and guide qualitative analysis. My past projects include my book on the history of digital piracy, articles on the role of hardware and software design in the shaping of media consumption, mapping far-right social-media communities and exploring the tentative alliances between tech companies and civil liberties groups when opposing state surveillance. I primarily teach courses in media and data science methods. These include lectures on topics such as radicalisation online, labour automation and AI, masculinity and technology, and the politics of tech cultures. In my methods courses I specialise in teaching programming skills and data science techniques to complete beginners as part of their training in computational social science research methods.
Qualifications
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BA Sociology (2007)
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MA Social Research Methods (2008)
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PhD Sociology University of York, (2011)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
Digital Cultures
Tech Culture
Science and Technology Studies
Computational Social Science
Far-right radicalisation
Tech culture elites
Fascism
Current research
Topic Modelling the Investigatory Powers Act
How did key stakeholders in the UK Investigatory Powers Bill Consultation frame their position to new state surveillance powers? Utilising computational topic modelling of the written submissions this project extracts and demonstrates the key topics expressed by different types of stakeholders and illuminates how they framed their interests.
Conferences and presentations
Neoreactionary Networks: Mapping extreme and mainstream Twitter
Invited presentation, Media@Sydney, Sydney, Australia, 5/5/2023
Medical misinformation and social harm in non-science-based health practices
EUROCRIM 2019, Ghent 18-21 September 2019, Ghent, Belgium, 20/9/2019
Encrypting Human Rights: The intertwining of voices in the UK state surveillance debate
International Conference in Ideology and Discourse Analysis 2019, Colchester, United Kingdom, 31/5/2019
Encrypting Human Rights: The Intertwining of voices in the UK state surveillance debate
International Conference in Ideology and Discourse Analysis, Colchester, United Kingdom, 31/5/2019
What can Data Scientists Learn from Social Scientists?
Invited presentation, Interdisciplinary Alchemy: Data Science + Social Science, London, United Kingdom, 7/11/2018
The Uber Game: Exploring the User/Algorithm Relationship through new Computational Methods
Digital Cultures: Knowledge | Culture | Technology, Lüneburg, Germany, 21/9/2018
Activism against medicine on social media: untangling the #novax protest on Twitter
18th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31/8/2018
Computational Social Science
Invited presentation, National Centre for Research Methods Festival, Bath, United Kingdom, 5/7/2018
Representing environmental harm and resistance on Twitter: The case of the TAP pipeline in Italy
Global Issues, Cultural Perspectives, Utrecht, Netherlands, 29/6/2018
The Uber Game: Exploring Algorithmic Managment and Resistance
Networked Publics: Association of Internet Researchers 2017, Tartu, Estonia, 21/10/2017
Representing environmental harm and resistance on Twitter: The case of the TAP pipeline in Italy
Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, Cardiff, United Kingdom, 18/9/2017
October 2015 - ' The Materiality of Digital Media' presented at the Association of Internet Researchers (AOIR) Annual Conference (IR16), Phoenix Arizona - USA
Pheonix, United States, 2015
June 2014 - 'Music Mashups: Creative Consumption and Cultures of Constant Reference', presented at 'Creating Cultures', Kings College London
London, United Kingdom, 2014
November 2013 - 'Competing with Free: Lessons from the History of Digital Distribution', presented at 'Online Cultural Consumers and Museums Symposium'. Kings College London
London, United Kingdom, 2013
September 2011 - Internet Archives & Documentary Analysis, presented at A Decade in Internet Time: Symposium on the Dynamics of the Internet and Society.The Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.
Oxford, United Kingdom, 2011
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Media, Culture and Society (SC106)
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The Sociological Imagination (SC111)
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Introduction to Social Data Science (SC207)
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Social Data Science: Uncover, Understand, Unleash (SC290)
Previous supervision
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 26/9/2022
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 3/11/2020
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 18/8/2020
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 16/4/2020
Degree subject: Sociology
Degree type: Doctor of Philosophy
Awarded date: 24/6/2019
Publications
Journal articles (8)
Di Ronco, A. and Allen-Robertson, J., (2021). . Crime, Media, Culture. 0 (3), 375-399
Janz, N., Allen-Robertson, J., Hertel, S. and Majumdar, R., (2021). . Business and Human Rights Journal. 6 (1), 120-126
Stevens, A. and Allen-Robertson, J., (2021). . Big Data and Society. 8 (1), 205395172098530-205395172098530
JANZ, N., ALLEN-ROBERTSON, J., MAJUMDAR, R. and HERTEL, S., (2021). Big Data on BHR: Innovative Approaches to Analysing the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre Database 鈥� ERRATUM. Business and Human Rights Journal. 6 (1), 178-178
Di Ronco, A., Allen-Robertson, J. and South, N., (2019). . Crime, Media, Culture. 15 (1), 143-168
Allen-Robertson, J., (2018). . Information, Communication and Society. 21 (11), 1732-1746
Allen-Robertson, J., (2017). . New Media and Society. 19 (3), 455-470
Allen鈥怰obertson, J. and Beer, D., (2010). Mobile Ideas: Tracking a Concept through Time and Space. Mobilities. 5 (4), 529-545
Books (1)
Allen-Robertson, J., (2013). . Palgrave Macmillan UK. 9781349441501
Book chapters (1)
Di Ronco, A. and Allen-Robertson, J., (2019). . In: Medical Misinformation and Social Harm in Non-Science Based Health Practices A Multidisciplinary Perspective. Editors: Lavorgna, A. and Di Ronco, A., . Routledge. 9781138388666
Reports and Papers (1)
Hermansson, P., Allen-Robertson, J. and Ahmad, M., (2023). Making Space for Hate: Identifying Radicalisers in Far-Right Chat Groups on Telegram
Other (1)
Allen-Robertson, J., Software: Twitter media Downloader with Gephi Support
Grants and funding
2020
Deciphering Violence: New Network Analytic Tools to Improve Hate Speech Detection Online
Independent Social Research Foundation
2018
The representation of environmental protest Online and Offline
British Academy
The representation of environmental protest Online and Offline
British Academy
2015
Human Rights and Information Technology in the Era of Big Data
Economic & Social Research Council
Contact
Academic support hours:
See Moodle for Details
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