Collaborate Across Disciplines
The Social Apps Lab supports interdisciplinary collaboration to develop social and software platforms that encourage active citizenship and direct democracy. It engages social science, computer science, urban planning, public health, engineering, art, and aspects of gameplay in research and design. These collaborations aim to reformulate the terms and scales of democratic assembly, citizen participation, civic action, and urban knowledge.
We develop these platforms as both socialware and software. We use the term “platform” to emphasize the construction of both a structure and an opportunity, as in a platform for public discussion. This platform incorporates multiple resources for specific purposes, including digital technologies and certain kinds of performative speech. The term “socialware” emphasizes that the platforms are based on and aim to foster assemblies of users to implement direct action at large scale.|
The Social Apps Lab was founded at UC Berkeley in 2010 by Professor James Holston (Anthropology) and Professor Greg Niemeyer (Art Practice and New Social Media). In addition to receiving many grants for its projects, the Lab won the 2016 UC Chancellor’s Award for Public Service.
The Social Apps Lab was founded at UC Berkeley in 2010 by Professor James Holston (Anthropology) and Professor Greg Niemeyer (Art Practice and New Social Media). In addition to receiving many grants for its projects, the Lab won the 2016 UC Chancellor’s Award for Public Service.
For many years, it operated within the ecosystem of CITRIS, (Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society). It is now affiliated with the College of Letters and Science and located within the Departments of Anthropology and Art Practice.
Co-Director
Prof. James Holston (Anthropology)
jholston@berkeley.edu
Co-Director
Prof. Greg Niemeyer (Art Practice)
niemeyer@berkeley.edu
Ash Htet
Zoe Saito
Swaleha Masude
Character and Asset sheet for Urban Chronicles game by Sadie Laster
Greg, Anaya, Zoe, Katherine and James wrapping up an Urban Chronicles project.