With Anna Antonakis

In this episode, we speak with Anna about the possibilities and limitations of bridging engaged research, activism, and academia, and about how social media platforms such as Facebook both support and constrain feminist activism. Examples include the Arab Spring as well as more recent developments. A central focus is the role of content moderation in feminist activism. In addition, Anna reflects on her experiences with feminism in Tunisia and Switzerland, as well as on the paradox of strong direct political participation alongside the very late introduction of women’s suffrage. Further aspects of the discussion include possibilities for empowerment in the context of Big Tech and the social responsibility of academic research. Dr. Anna Antonakis is currently a senior researcher in the field of Social Design at the Institute of Design Research, Bern University of Applied Sciences. Drawing on science and technology studies and intersectional approaches, she investigates questions around digital technologies and representations, global inequalities and security/ies. Her research currently focusses on how power operates in and through the design of processes, narratives and (digital) artifacts.Her research interests are anchored in the historical moment of the revolutionary uprisings in Tunisia in 2010/2011, which she witnessed and analysed online and offline. She holds a PhD in political science from the Freie Universität Berlin.