The Reilly Center hosts David Karpf, author of Analytic Activism
The LSU Manship School of Mass Communication’s Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs will host a talk with George Washington University professor David Karpf on Wednesday, February 8 at 2 p.m. in the LSU Journalism Building’s Holliday Forum.
Karpf will discuss his latest book, “Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy.”
Digital media, Karpf argues, has transformed political activism, most remarkably by enabling organized activist groups to listen as the seemingly disorganized masses speak. Organized advocacy groups are, he writes, increasingly turning to digital analytics in order to gauge supporter interest, monitor public sentiment, experiment with new tactics, and craft strategies that resonate in the new media environment.
In “Analytic Activism,” Karpf discusses the heretofore overlooked role of analytics in organized political engagement. He explores how this new mode of activism works, how it is produced, what it is useful for, and what its limitations are.
Karpf is an associate professor and director of graduate studies at the George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs. His primary research focus is on how the internet is changing civil society organizations and large-scale movements for political change.
Karpf is the author of The MoveOn Effect: The Unexpected Transformation of American Political Advocacy (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy (Oxford University Press, 2016). He also writes about technology, politics, and strategy for a wide range of outlets.
The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, an integral part of the Manship School of Mass Communication, uses the intellectual muscle of the school’s faculty to help solve practical problems and advance good government initiatives. The Reilly Center’s mission is to generate thoughtful programs, dialogue and research about mass communication and its many faceted relationships with social, economic and political issues. Evident in everything the center does is its commitment to strengthen and advance the Manship School’s national leadership in media and politics.