Pre-talk Workshop: 11:45a - 1:15p | Digital Worlds Institute | Polymodal Immersive Classroom Theater
Talk: 4:00p | Smathers Library Room 100
with Dr. Lyneise Williams (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Talk Description: We often take aesthetics, appearances, and representations for granted—yet they shape our perceptions of power, politics, and success in profound ways. Technology is often seen as a neutral tool, but its role in image-making is anything but impartial. In this talk, Lyneise Williams traces the evolving representations of Black athletes from the early 20th century to today, beginning with the striking 1927 photograph of Black Panamanian boxer Alphonso Teofilo Brown in Match L’Intran. Examining photography, newspaper printing, microfilming, digitization, and AI, she reveals how technological choices shape and obscure cultural narratives. From sports media to advertising and social media, Williams explores how humanities perspectives can challenge assumptions of neutrality, offering deeper insights into identity and representation in the digital age.
More info about the talk at 4:00 pm
Workshop Description: Is technology truly neutral? What hidden values and assumptions shape the digital spaces we engage with every day? This interactive workshop challenges the idea of technological neutrality by turning a critical eye toward Minecraft—not as a game to be played, but as a cultural and material object that reflects human beliefs, biases, and omissions. Rather than focusing on gameplay, Williams invites participants to analyze Minecraft as a space created by humans and shaped by human interactions. Through small group discussions, participants will examine themes such as:
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The game’s rules and mechanics
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How people and environments are represented (or not)
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The roles and agency given to players
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The language and terminology used
Each group will present their findings, leading to a collaborative discussion that challenges assumptions about neutrality in technology. By interrogating Minecraft’s design choices, we will explore ways to rethink and intentionally integrate fuller representations of humanity within tech-designed spaces.
More info about the workshop at 11:45 am
Lyneise Williams is an Associate Professor of Art History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (PhD, Yale 2004). She is the author of Latin Blackness in Parisian Visual Culture, 1852-1932 (2019), which explores how Parisian visual culture linked blackness to Latin American identity from the mid-19th to early 20th century through figures like Cuban entertainer Chocolat and Panamanian boxer Alfonso Teofilo Brown. Her current book examines beauty, fashion, and the Black male athletic body in 1920s-30s Paris, while a third project focuses on trauma, care, and African American spirituality in 1920s South Carolina. A former Getty Scholar Fellow, she has published on Uruguayan artist Pedro Figari, African art, and hip-hop jewelry. Williams also serves on the Chief Justice Advisory Commission on Portraits and has curated African art exhibitions, including contributing to the North Carolina Freedom Monument Project.