A WIAS seminar with International Research Fellow Dr Arwid Lund and Open Knowledge Activist Dr Jonathan Gray

Big data has received a lot of attention in recent years, open data/knowledge less so, and the relation between open data/knowledge and the predominantly commercial big data sector even less so. This seminar aims at critically discussing and shedding light on the under-theorised field of open data/knowledge and its relation to capitalism.

In this WIAS seminar, Dr Arwid Lund reflects on his study of the ideological landscape underpinning the open data/knowledge movement (Open Knowledge London). Dr Jonathan Gray focuses on his own involvement in this movement and his forthcoming book Data Worlds: The new politics of information. The aim of the seminar is to introduce critical perspectives on open data/knowledge’s relation to capitalism, as well as a critical understanding of the political character that informs its advocates.

We will round the event off with a wine reception.

Dr Arwid Lund is a Lecturer at the Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences, Lund University, Sweden. Arwid is completing the second part of his WIAS fellowship from 3 April 2017 to 2 June 2017. During his fellowship, he will be working on how 'openness' is understood ideologically by advocates within the Open Knowledge Network. His aim is to identify the ideological landscape within this movement.

Dr Jonathan Gray is a Prize Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research, University of Bath. He is also Research Associate at the médialab of Sciences Po and Tow Fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia University. As Director of Policy and Research at the global civil society organisation Open Knowledge, Jonathan has founded and co-founded numerous initiatives, including the Data Journalism Handbook, Europe’s Energy, Open Data for Tax Justice, OpenSpending, Open Trials, The Public Domain Review and Where Does My Money Go?.