ABOUT

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.
Her research, funded by various institutions including the National Science Foundation (US), 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.
Dr. Avle's PhD and postdoc are from the University of Michigan and her undergraduate degrees from Brandeis University. She serves as a board member for the Afro-Sino Center of International Relations and has been a
visiting fellow at Harvard University's Center for African Studies (2020-21) as well as an adjunct researcher at the University of Ghana's Center for Asian Studies, (2018).
Email: dr.avle [at] seyramavle [dot] com
Media Mentions:
Do white founders in Africa have an easier time getting capital? (Quartz Africa)
Huawei rides security concerns (African Business Magazine)
Inside Shenzhen's race to outdo Silicon Valley (MIT Tech Review)
The rise of Chinese tech in Africa (The China-Africa Project)
Rethinking innovation (Citi Trends)
Videos & Podcasts:
Youth & closing the innovation gap | Africa & Covid-19
MSU Eye on Africa: Mapping contemporary (re)imaginations of a global Black diaspora
Harvard University Center for African Studies: Designing the south
SAIS-CARI: Reorienting tech transfer
Distribution Matters: Radio via mobiles in Ghana
CHI 2016 talk: Design(ing) here and there