Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2020 -

D'Ignazio (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Klein (Emory Univ.) examine how power and privilege operate in data science and in the real world. The authors address how racism, patriarchy, cissexism, heteronormativity, ableism, colonialism, and classism influence data collection, analysis, and consumption. Presenting seven principles of data feminism--to examine power, challenge power, elevate emotion and embodiment, rethink binaries and hierarchies, embrace pluralism, consider context, and make labor visible--they draw on the feminist theories of intersectionality, the matrix of domination, situated knowledge, and emotional labor as developed by Patricia Hill Collins, Donna Haraway, and Arlie Hochschild. Pertinent, real-life examples are drawn into the text, such as showing readers how Google searches may be powered by and re-create sexism and racism, exploring how "Black Lives Data" can create change, and examining the history of voting rights. The authors prioritize marginalized perspectives as they advocate for data equity and through their arguments provide tools to help achieve this goal. They charge that "those of us in positions of relative power must learn to listen deeper and listen differently--with the ultimate goal of taking action against the status quo." This call to action is especially important as issues of power and privilege continue to re-create inequalities in contemporary society.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.