ABOUT

Bio

Seyram Avle [pronounced saiy-ram ahv-leh] is Assistant Professor of Global Digital Media in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is also a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University's Center for African Studies and an Adjunct Researcher at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Ghana.

Her research 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 research is interdisciplinary and has been published in venues across Communication Studies, Human-Computer Interaction, and Science & Technology Studies. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan and her undergraduate degrees from Brandeis University. Her research has been funded by various institutions, including the National Science Foundation. 

​

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Email: savle [at] umass [dot] edu

​

Media Mentions:

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:

MSU Eye on Africa: Mapping contemporary (re)imaginations of a global Black diaspora

Harvard University Center for African Studies: Designing the south

China-Africa Project: The rise of Chinese tech in Africa is both feared and embraced

​

SAIS-CARI: Reorienting tech transfer

​

Distribution Matters: Radio via mobiles in Ghana 

CHI 2016 talk: Design(ing) here and there

​