About this Event
Dr Oliver Haimson's Talk:
In this talk, drawing from my book Trans Technologies (MIT Press, 2025), I discuss how technology creates new possibilities for transgender people, and how trans experiences, in turn, create new possibilities for technology. Mainstream technologies often exclude or marginalize transgender users, but when trans creators take technology design into their own hands, transformative possibilities emerge. Through in-depth interviews with over 100 creators of trans technology—including apps, games, health resources, extended reality systems, and supplies designed to address challenges trans people face—I uncover what trans technology means and explore its possibilities, limitations, and future prospects. I examine the design processes that brought these technologies to life, the role of community in their creation, and how they empower trans individuals to create their own tools to navigate a world that often fails to meet trans needs. This work highlights the successes and limitations of current trans technologies, identifies gaps still to be addressed, and investigates how privilege, race, and access to resources shape which trans technologies are created, who benefits, and who may be left out. Finally, I chart new directions for design and innovation to drive meaningful social change, inviting us to rethink the relationship between technology and marginalized communities.
Digital Civics Initiative: New Civic Terrains Speaker Series
The Digital Civics Initiative at Northeastern University is an interdisciplinary platform dedicated to understanding and reshaping the civic dimensions of digital technologies in contemporary life. The initiative brings together scholars, educators, activists, technologists, and artists whose work engages questions of technology and education, labor and automation, governance and public institutions, surveillance and data justice, environmental sustainability, community organizing, and human-centered approaches to machine learning and artificial intelligence.
Event venue & nearby stays
Ryder Hall: Center for Design, 11 Leon Street, Boston, United States
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