Selected Academic & Public Scholarship

lasade-anderson, t and Sobande, F. 2024. “Ideology as/of Platform Affordance and Black Feminist Conceptualizations of “Cancelling”: Reading Twitter,” Television and New Media Studies, DOI: 10.1177/15274764241277467.

Abstract: As Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter highlights, platforms’ affordances extend further than UI choices and content formats emphasized. Extant work addresses that political perspectives are implicated in the affordances of platforms; however, the notion of “ideology as/of affordance” requires more scholarly attention, namely, from a Black feminist position which grapples with the raced and gendered dimensions of how such shaping of affordances is understood and experienced in digital contexts. A Black feminist analysis offers a critical intervention that examines the dynamics between ideology, digital culture, and relational experiences of autonomy. Thus, our article outlines how “ideology as/of affordance” is a helpful intervention for illuminating the power relations by which both “cancel culture” and “platform affordances” are defined. Specifically, we explicate how white supremacist ideology underpins platform affordances, which in turn shape who is “canceled,” and consider the key connections and disconnections between them.

bruce, K., Walcott, R., Mackay, K K., Osei, K., lasade-anderson, t., Sobande, F. 2022. “Black feminist and digital media studies in Britain,” Feminist Media Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2021.2006737. Post-print available here

Abstract: Based on an in-depth discussion between us (six Black PhD and early career researchers), this work explores burgeoning Black feminist and digital media studies in Britain. Our article is rooted in dialogue about Black feminist digital culture, communications, aesthetics, joy, and our different yet interconnected scholarly experiences. We consider who and what shapes the work that we do, the way we approach it, and how it has developed in recent years.

lasade-anderson, t. 2021. Digital Safe Spaces and Self-Definition: Black British Women’s Confessional Vlogs. Master’s Thesis, Cardiff, UK: Cardiff University. DOI: 10.33767/osf.io/heg8k. Pre-print available here

Abstract: Confessional vlogs, where YouTubers reveal incredibly revealing personal details, embody the private-yet-public tension occurring on YouTube. Research has shown that confessional vlogs are dialogical media texts, where the YouTuber engages in self-disclosure and self-expression, building intimacy and community with their audience. This study aims to provide an empirical contribution to the study of YouTube genres, specifically vlogs, by outlining the constitutive elements of confessional vlogs and defining the phenomenon.