Man with word "error" and zeroes and ones projected over his face.Photo by Jayson Hinrichsen on Unsplash

Have you ever wondered why facial recognition software fails more often to identify Black faces than white faces? Or if Google is really showing you the most relevant search results?

We’ll take up these questions and more in LIS 360: Information and Oppression in the Digital World. We’ll identify how sexism, racism, and other forms of oppression are reinforced through the digital technologies we’ve come to depend on, but also to reimagine how those tools can be reworked, recoded, reinvented, and used differently in order to promote social justice and equity in both the digital and physical world.

Topics will include:

  • Predictive policing
  • Algorithmic bias in the criminal justice system (bail determination, sentencing, and parole)
  • Racial bias in facial recognition software
  • How artificial intelligence differs from human minds
  • Feminist critiques of scientific knowledge
  • The ethical use of generative AI
  • Representations of Black women in online search results
  • Bias in library discovery systems

Approved for general education capacity Equity, Diversity & Inclusion or University studies Strand J.

Fall | CRN 1233 | M/W 3:30–5:20 pm

A government building fading into set of 100-dollar bills

Are you interested in learning more about financial contributions from individuals and interest groups to politicians and hot political issues? Campaign expenditures data sheds light on how committees and candidates spend the money they raised and highlights who may benefit the most from those expenditures. Lobbyists and Super PACs are often viewed by Americans as having too much influence on members of Congress making transparency in donations critical to address reform. To learn more about money in politics, visit these non-partisan websites, OpenSecrets.org and OregonVotes.gov. Read below for more information.

Where can I find national and state data?

Open Secrets Logo

OpenSecrets.org – nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C.

● Tracks comprehensive data on campaign finance
● Supplies financial data on elections, politicians, ballot measures, political ads, companies, industries, organizations, and more
● Reports on federal and state political lobbying trends

Looking for additional local data?

Oregon Secretary of State Logo

OregonVotes.gov – provided by the Oregon Secretary of State

  • Provides local campaign donation data
  • Allows searching by candidate name and by year
  • Contains Oregon’s campaign finance laws

Want additional information?

Feel free to contact Holly Gabriel, Open Access & Government Information Librarian, Hannon Library, at gabrielh@sou.edu.