Andy Lisheng
MIT Department: Media Arts and Sciences
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Danielle Wookd
Research Supervisors: Alissa Chavalithumrong, Yiyun Zhang
Undergraduate Institution: Wesleyan University
Hometown: Singapore
Website: LinkedIn
Biography
Andy Lisheng is a senior at Wesleyan University, majoring in College of Letters and Science & Technology Studies (STS). He is a professional qualitative researcher deeply interested in digital media, digital relationalities, social systems engineering, and cultural studies. At his home institution, he is dedicated to mentoring students in writing, research, and anti-racist praxis. With a skillset encompassing qualitative analysis, data visualization, and project management, he is interested in exploring the impact of digital mediation and technology on the complexities of modern-day relationalities. He plans to pursue a PhD to continue exploring the myriad of ways digitalization affects social equity, belonging, and inclusion.
Abstract
Workshopping Diverse Futures: Zero Robotics and The Affect of Inclusion
Andy Lisheng1, Alissa Chavalithumrong2, Yiyun Zhang2, and Danielle Wood2
1College of Science and Technology Studies, Wesleyan University
2Program in Media Arts & Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This project examines Zero Robotics, a coding competition and STEM outreach program designed for middle- to high-school students that seeks to equitably serve marginalized communities, as a case study of the affect of inclusion. To articulate inclusion as an affect is to examine the experiences, feelings, and beliefs that circulate in the social environment. I argue that to articulate the affect of inclusion – the feeling like you do or don’t belong – is to elucidate the affective negotiations that these marginalized communities make, opening out to a more nuanced analysis of the greater problem of diversity in (higher) education. In other words, how do people feel and apprehend their location in the academy and in STEM? What happens when these feelings are incommensurate with their identities and the complexities of the institution? This preliminary study envisions a creative workshop designed to engage future thinking and belonging in middle schoolers, by analyzing the discourses and meanings about STEM, belonging, and identities in a qualitative program survey (n=37-222) administered pre- and post-Zero Robotics. Understanding the social worlds of middle schoolers in STEM provides considerations for institutional programming and our understanding of race, ethnicity, identity and STEM education.
