Aria Alamalhodaei, Alexandra Alberda, Anna Feigenbaum - Humanising Data through Comics
dataset
posted on 2020-06-29, 16:39 authored by Aria Alamalhodaei, Alexandra Alberda, Anna Feigenbaum<p><b><i>03/07/2020 14:00 Room 2 #humelp</i></b></p><p><br></p><p>In recent years scholars and practitioners have drawn attention to the
need for data to be humanised (Lupi 2017, D’Ignazio and Klein 2020,
Alamalhodaei et al 2020). In a piece circulated around social media, data
visualizer Giorgia Lupi provocatively asked, “Can a data visualization evoke
empathy and activate us also at an emotional level, and not only at a cognitive
one? Can [it] make you feel part of a story of a human’s life?” (2017). </p>
<p> </p>
<p>This workshop explores the emergent area of ‘data comics’, looking at
how the fields of graphic medicine and graphic social science integrate
quantitative, evidence-based statistics into narratives of human experience in
efforts to evoke empathy (Bach et al 2017, Wysocki 2018, McNicol and Wysocki
2019). It then turns to consider the recent rise of data visualisation, and
with them data comics, during the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>From the fear of getting sick to the boredom of working at home, from
the struggles of full-time parenting to the threat of economic upheaval, we
offer a brief masterclass in how recent data comics on COVID-19 explore the
complexities and potential of presenting data in more humanising ways. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Drawing on examples gathered over the past three months, we argue that
integrating data and comics can be a powerful tool for public health
communications, social justice and advocacy work. The workshop then turns to a
hands-on activity asking participants to create their own data comics from a
live brief. The session concludes with practical advice for the planning,
production and distribution of data comics.
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><b>Work cited</b></p>
<p>Alamalhodaei, A., Alberda, A. P., & Feigenbaum, A. (2020). 21.
Humanizing data through ‘data comics’: An introduction to graphic medicine and
graphic social science. Data Visualization in Society, 347.</p>
<p>Bach, B., Riche, N. H., Carpendale, S., & Pfister, H. (2017). The
emerging genre of data comics. IEEE computer graphics and applications, 37(3),
6-13.</p>
<p>D'Ignazio, C., & Klein, L. F. (2020). Data feminism. MIT Press.</p>
<p>Feigenbaum, A., & Alamalhodaei, A. (2020). The Data Storytelling
Workbook. Routledge.</p>
<p>Lupi, G. (2017, January 30). Data Humanism: The Revolutionary Future of
Data Visualization. Print Magazine. Retrieved from</p>
<p>http://www.printmag.com/information-design/data-humanism-future-of-data-visualization.</p>
<p>McNicol, S., & Wysocki, L. (2019). Comics in Qualitative Research.
In P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, A. Cernat, J.W. Sakshaug, & R.A. Williams
(Eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations. doi: 10.4135/9781526421036832018</p>
<p>Wysocki, L. (2018). Farting Jellyfish and Synergistic Opportunities:
The Story and Evaluation of Newcastle Science Comic. The Comics Grid: Journal
of Comics Scholarship, 8.</p>
