October 22nd, 2025; online
On Wednesday, October 22nd, the EpisTEAM project hosted an insightful lunchtime seminar exploring gender issues in technological development through a historical lens. The event featured Professor Janet Abbate, a renowned scholar and Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Virginia Tech, USA.
Topic: Gender and the Knower in Computing
Professor Abbate examined how gender as a cultural construct has influenced perceptions of expertise in computing. Drawing on historical examples from the second half of the 20th century, she highlighted women’s experiences in the US and UK and connected these insights to contemporary debates such as data feminism. The talk raised critical questions about the epistemological and ethical implications of digital technologies, particularly AI, and challenged the notion of knowledge as a “gaze from nowhere,” as theorized by Donna Haraway.
Key Themes
- Historical analysis of gendered roles in computing.
- Exploration of feminist critiques and their relevance to AI and digital policy.
- Discussion on situatedness, intentionality, and accountability in computer-generated knowledge.
About the Speaker
Janet Abbate is the author of Inventing the Internet (1999) and Recoding Gender: Women’s Changing Participation in Computing (2012), and co-editor of Abstractions and Embodiments: New Histories of Computing and Society (2022). Her research focuses on the history, culture, and politics of computing and the Internet.