Start reading comic books!
Books are dangerous things according to Maria Berge. In this blog post she reflects on why she reads comic books and invites us all join her. Book are dangerous They can be captivating and if you don’t have the personal … Continued
Gaining race and losing gender in South Africa
Gender still seems to be the main focus in Swedish equality research and policies. This was also the case when, many years ago and as a ’young’ PhD-student, Eva Silfver worked at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in Pretoria … Continued
Whiteness and Geek Diversity in Sweden
Our research about contemporary geeks focuses on gender and race. Sweden has an international reputation as an anti-racist country. Yet, in contrast to their focus on gender inequality, racism, while much discussed, is seen as confined to people in Sweden’s … Continued
Pluralising, emptying or challenging the gatekeeper geek?
The meaning of geekiness and the term nerd are contested. In this post, Andreas Ottemo reflects on some pros and cons of different strategies used in approaching the nerd in a Swedish context. 10 years ago, for their International Women’s … Continued
The geek closest to me
How old is a geek? In our geek-project we have discussed (and collected data on) geekiness in relation to gender, class and ethnicity. However, when we discussed geekiness in popular movies and TV-series a few weeks ago, it was our … Continued
Doing collaborative research via zoom
This project is a collaboration between four researchers who live and work in three cities – Göteborg, London and Umeå. Our plan was to meet once a year for a week in Umeå to discuss research, watch films, design data … Continued
Betty: The neglected TV geek
When we think of TV geeks, the first that come to mind are probably Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard of The Big Bang Theory. This is not surprising as the show’s 279 episodes have been broadcast worldwide. Yet a far … Continued
What makes us interested in geeky stuff?
In our research project on the role of the geek as a gatekeeper in tech, we have an ongoing discussion about which of us in the research group identify as geeks. In an earlier blog post, Maria Berge reflected on … Continued
The paradoxes of geek nostalgia
“Forget about the click-economy, it’s nostalgia-onomy that counts now!” This is a quote from one of the geek pods we are following for our project. While one can debate the death of the click-economy, it brings to the centre an … Continued
How geeky do you need to be to do research on geekiness?
When Heidi Carlone, Catherine Scott, and Cassi Lowder analysed classroom interaction, they noted that all but one of the research team ‘were White and all but one … were women’. Therefore, they used a strategy of seeking feedback from colleagues … Continued