Professors Christina Boyles, Yuerong Hu, and Siqi Wu are all first year ILS faculty members. We asked them a few questions to find out their thoughts on IU, Bloomington, and their own research and interests. [Note: Responses were lightly edited for grammar and clarity.]
Question: Why did you choose to come to IU Bloomington?
Christina: IU Bloomington is a great fit for me as both a researcher and person. In particular, the Information and Library Science department has specialists in archives, information architecture, and digital humanities—all of which provide me with a great community with which to collaborate. IU also offers support for the varied aspects of my work, which include:
- the development of software extensions like the Omeka S theme Multilingual and its corresponding software extensions—Page Blocks, Transcript, and SimplePDF;
- research on topics including community archiving and digital humanities; and
- the implementation of on-the-ground community engagement practices.
I am so excited to be joining this incredible community. Everyone has already been tremendously kind and welcoming. I am looking forward to getting more connected to Luddy in the months ahead and to making IU my academic home!
Yuerong: As a PhD student, I always wished to stay in academia to keep doing research in library and information sciences. I am excited to join our fabulous ILS department after completing my PhD. For me, IU Bloomington is a powerful and creative home for inter-disciplinary research; and Luddy is particularly great for research focused on information.
Siqi: After spending many years living in big cities and two wonderful years in Ann Arbor, I was drawn to life in U.S. college towns. When I was on the job market, I was strategically looking for opportunities in college towns, and Bloomington is one of the best. My research also intersects with many researchers in Luddy. So, the name of Luddy school was not unfamiliar to me.
Q: How would you describe your research? What are your current projects? How do you see your research evolving during your time in Bloomington?
Christina: My research explores the relationship between digital technologies, community archiving, and social justice using two central approaches: 1) critiquing cultural practices involving digital tools and 2) developing ethical frameworks for using digital technologies and distributing them through research outputs, software developments, pedagogical resources, and community engagement models. I ask questions like:
- How and why do digital tools cause social harm, and how can their design be improved?
- Who is harmed by digital tools and why are these specific communities affected?
- How do community engagement models shift the relationship between users and technology?
- How can we develop better tools through participatory design with affected communities?
- How can a community data ethics framework better our approach to people and technology?
The goal of this research is to generate new opportunities for community engagement that help build a better, more ethical world. An example of this work is the Archivo de Respuestas Emergencias de Puerto Rico (AREPR), a Mellon Foundation and NEH supported digital open-access repository of Puerto Rican artifacts of disaster pertaining to Hurricanes Irma and María (2017), the Puerto Rican earthquake swarm (2019-2022), and COVID-19 (2020-present). This project, of which I am the Principal Investigator, involves collaboration between Indiana University, the University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, and the Digital Library of the Caribbean. More information is available via the project site: https://arepr.org.
My hope is to expand my work with AREPR to include new geographic spaces, including those in and around Bloomington. This will make it possible to draw connections between local and global climate action and connect grassroots community groups with one another. I look forward to undertaking this work in the months and years ahead!
Yuerong: My primary research areas are cultural analytics, digital humanities, and critical data studies. I have been particularly interested in critical research on digitized books and online book reviews. Currently, I am working on incentivized book reviews: How popular are incentivized reviews on platforms like Goodreads? Who sponsored them? What are their implications? Given Luddy’s edge in interdisciplinary research, I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues to explore more interesting topics.
Siqi: My research studies humans in the context of web and social media – What are they consuming? Whom do they talk to? How do algorithms shape their views and behaviors? Those questions are important given the ubiquitous Internet information in our modern society. My current project studies disagreement in crowdsourcing. Everyone has an opinion, and they are not necessarily in line with others. This project aims to extract useful information from data showing various levels of disagreement among humans. To me, ILS is a new environment. I was surrounded by researchers specialized in computational methods. That is not the case for ILS. But I also see a lot of opportunities here – I am looking forward to learning more about library science, digital archives, and digital humanities. I am curious about how to apply AI to intersect with those fields.
Q: What classes are you teaching? What is the most exciting or rewarding thing about teaching so far?
Christina: I am currently teaching the Introduction to Digital Humanities course. This course explores established and emerging issues in digital humanities research. Blending theory and praxis, it considers the role of technology, information, and power in DH and asks questions such as “What is the role of technology in our society?” and “How can we use technology to encourage social good?” The discussion that follows sets the tone for the rest of the class, during which students learn to question their own assumptions about where power comes from, how it is deployed, and what it means for an idea to be socially constructed.
We are only a few weeks into the semester, and I am already thrilled to work with such an amazing cohort of students. With representation from multiple majors and colleges, my class has done a tremendous job of providing me and one another with unique insights that have helped us engage with course topics deeply and meaningfully.
Yuerong: I am teaching Database Design this semester. For me, the best part of teaching is that I always learn from my students.
Siqi: I am teaching ILS Z639 Social Media Mining this semester. Even though I identify myself as a social media researcher, I don’t always catch up with the latest research trends. This course provides me an opportunity to think carefully about the current landscape of social media research for building a syllabus. Also, interacting with students and watching them achieve something is always rewarding. For example, some are building their first machine learning models.
Q: What is your favorite thing that you have discovered in Bloomington so far?
Christina: There are too many good things to choose! I have been amazed at how many offerings there are in Bloomington and at IU, including amazing restaurants, outdoor recreation, musical performances, and more! I am looking forward to continuing to explore more of these activities as I get more settled in my new role.
Yuerong: I really enjoy walking around the campus and the town. The breeze of autumn is in the air.
Siqi: I have been trying to explore Bloomington’s nature areas – Griffy Woods, Yellowwood Forest – those are pretty cool. I also like the limestone buildings in Bloomington, and I can say that Bloomington has very nice suburbs.
Q: What are your hobbies? Are there any fun facts you would like students or fellow faculty to know about you?
Christina: As an avid hiker and dog mom, I am excited about Bloomington’s close proximity to amazing state parks and trails. I always appreciate recommendations on new trails to explore!
Yuerong: I like making things with my hands: puzzles, patchwork, polymer clay, Lego, DIY miniature house, etc. I am not an expert in any of them, but I enjoy playing with different projects. I love plants and mugs very much.
Siqi: I am a runner, or an ultra runner. I run the Boston and New York City marathons every year. I also go to the mountains and run 100 miles. I have completed six 100 miles.
Q: What advice do you have for students in your field? Is there anything you wish you had known about this area of study when you were a student?
Christina: I advise students to try something unexpected or unfamiliar toward the beginning of their graduate careers. Often, we come to graduate school with a set idea about what research we’ll pursue, but most students I work with (myself included!) decide to change directions once we learn more about what opportunities exist. I encourage students to allow themselves the space and flexibility to try new things.
Also, I want students to know that their academic success is connected to their personal health and well-being. Stress is also a common part of the college experience, and it often can be compounded by unexpected life changes outside the classroom. Remember: Your health, emotional, and mental well-being are essential, and it’s important to take care of them.
Yuerong: Have fun! ILS is a constantly changing area and sometimes things are challenging, but it is also an area where you can do research on almost anything of your interest. Relax, get your hands dirty, and explore the possibilities.
Siqi: Be curious. Methods can be learned in classes or from textbooks, but asking questions is more important in my field since many interesting questions originate from our daily life experiences. I would suggest continuing to read and talk to other people. I often find those spark interesting ideas.
Learn more about our faculty and programs in ILS.