ABOUT
Email: dr.avle [at] seyramavle [dot] com
Bio
Seyram Avle [/ˈsɛi.rɑːm /ˈɑːv.lɛ] is Associate Professor of Global Digital Media in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is also an affiliate faculty in the Data Analytics and Computational Social Sciences program.
Dr Avle's research, funded by various institutions including the US National Science Foundation (NSF), focuses on digital technology cultures and innovation across parts of Africa, China, and the United States. This work primarily takes a critical approach towards understanding how digital technologies are made and used, as well as their implications for issues of labor, identity, and futures.
She is a founding member of the Global Technology for Social Justice Lab (GloTech) and a board member at the Afro-Sino Center for International Relations. She is also a fellow at the International Institute for Advanced Studies at the University of Ghana and was previously a visiting fellow at the Harvard Center for African Studies (2021-2022). In the fall of 2024, she will be a Global Horizons Senior Fellow at the Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study.
*I am on sabbatical till fall 2025 and not accepting requests for reviews, talks, or other engagements during this period. Thank you for understanding.
**For applicants to the UMass Comm PhD program: I am accepting students for the next academic year; however, I have limited internet access during the application period and cannot meet with applicants. If you see yourself as a good fit, please go ahead and indicate this in your application and the admissions committee will assess accordingly. Thank you for your interest.