
upcoming
The BCaT Lab hosts several events each semester, alongside open lab hours between 10am - 3pm from Tuesday to Thursday. If you’re interested in being active with BCaT, explore what events we’re hosting below or subscribe to our Google Calendar to be the first to know what we’re planning each month.
TRYING TO JOIN an event?
For all the events that use Zoom, we use the same link. To join an event, click below.
BCaT Calendar
Want to learn more about an event? Click the calendar to see details about each event for that day!
Digital Humanities Project Review
Working through a specific project grounded in Digital Humanities research? Or are you thinking through questions where a Digital Humanities project could intervene? Join us as we discuss and review Digital Humanities Projects!
Join us in Skinner 3115, or register for a Zoom link here.
BCaT Applies: Graduate School Applications
Are you thinking about grad school? Application season is fast approaching!
The BCaT Lab is here to help with the application process! We will be hosting a Grad Schools Application Clinic. Come join us to learn about and receive assistance with the grad school application process in Skinner 3115.
You may also register here for a Zoom link!
BCaT Eats
Join us for our first BCaT eats of the fall semester in Skinner 3115! There will be food, community, and good times shared. Hope to see you there!
BCAT Open house
Join us in the BCaT Lab (Skinner 3115) from 11:00am - 3:00pm as we usher in the fall semester!
Automating Black Joy Information Session (11am - 12pm): We will be discussing our newest collaborative project: Automating Black Joy. Automating Black Joy is a project critically exploring the future of AI. This project examines automation and AI through the lens of Black feminist inquiry, toward the goal of liberation and joy. Join us in the lab, or register and join via Zoom here.
BCaT Eats (12pm - 1pm): Join us for our first BCaT eats of the fall semester! There will be good food, great vibes, and a wonderful time for all. We hope to see you there!
BCaT Applies (1pm - 3pm): Are you thinking about applying to Graduate School? Application deadlines are quickly approaching, there is so much information hitting your email inbox about each school, and you still need to ask your letter writers if they’ll…write letters! The BCaT Lab is here to (hopefully) make the process a little less daunting. Join us in the lab, or register and join via Zoom here.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on Speculative Futures! Read: Imagination: A Manifesto (Ruja Benjamin)
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.
Digital Mapping and Black Spaces Workshop
In this workshop, Dr. Morrison considers the constraints of mapping technologies in offering layered and rich representations of Black life and space, highlighting how digital mapping can be used both as a tool to supplement research and creative inquiry, as well as to present research findings.
Of primary concern in early design stages and at various stages of project iteration are project ethics (both conceptually and regarding labor), organization of data and metadata, and the technology/software leveraged to animate data for both internal project collaborators and external end users.
Drawing from her experience working on three large-scale digital humanities projects that utilize data about Black historical subjects, Dr. Morrison explores what has shaped her own DH mapping project.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on Speculative Futures! Read: The Black Experience in Design.
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.
Open Lab Hours: Podcast Room Available
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! Podcast room will be available for use.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on AI and Skepticism! Watch: a Short Film titled, Sci-Fi Short Film "Afro Algorithms" | DUST
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.
Building Interactive XR Exhibits: From Conception to Creation Day 2
Join our two-day seminar exploring XR design, AI-generated 3D models, and digital twins. Learn hands-on techniques for 3D scanning, model creation, and optimizing experiences for web and VR.
This workshop will be hosted by Christopher Derrell. Chris is an award-winning software developer who in his role, manages UX, architecture, and development to create practical and aesthetic websites. These have spanned across multiple industries including Banking, Hotels and Engineering, from Barbados to Rome, while being recognized globally as leaders in technological innovation.
Today, we will be focusing on hands-on 3D scanning, AI-generated models, Deploying Your Space and optimizing for performance.
Open Lab Hours: Podcast Room Available
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! Podcast room will be available for use.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on AI and Skepticism! Read the last chapter of Technoskepticism.
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.
Open Lab Hours: Podcast Room Available
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! Podcast room will be available for use.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on AI and Liberation! Read The Black Technical Object by Ramon Amaro.
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.
Building Interactive XR Exhibits: From Concept to Creation day 1
Join our two-day seminar exploring XR design, AI-generated 3D models, and digital twins. Learn hands-on techniques for 3D scanning, model creation, and optimizing experiences for web and VR.
This workshop will be hosted by Christopher Derrell. Chris is an award-winning software developer who in his role, manages UX, architecture, and development to create practical and aesthetic websites. These have spanned across multiple industries including Banking, Hotels and Engineering, from Barbados to Rome, while being recognized globally as leaders in technological innovation.
Today, we will be focusing on fundamentals of 3D Design, designing XR spaces, interactive experience examples, mental Models and 3D scanning fundamentals.
Open Lab Hours: Podcast Room Available
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! Podcast room will be available for use.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on AI and Liberation! We will be reading Unmasking AI by Joy Buolamwini.
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.
SAFIYA U. NOBLE: PLENARY & FIRESIDE CHAT WITH PATRICIA HILL COLLINS & CATHERINE KNIGHT STEELE
Dr. Safiya U. Noble is a Professor at UCLA where she serves the Director of the Center on Race & Digital Justice and Co-Director of the Minderoo Initiative on Tech & Power. She is the bestselling author of Algorithms of Oppression. This talk will be moderated by Catherine Knight Steele, Associate Professor of Communication and Director of the Black Communication & Technology Lab.
Open Lab Hours: Writing Lab
Interested in coming to the lab to discuss research or find ways to get involved? Visit us in Skinner 3115 from 10am-3pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time.
BCaT Writes - Undergrad Drop In
Visit us in Skinner 3115 or on Zoom from 10am-12pm! We will also be hosting writing support and undergraduate drop-ins during this time. Email bcat@umd.edu up to 500 words in advance for tailored feedback.
BCaT Applies: Zeeschuimer
This workshop offers a user-friendly data scraping method for the researcher who—like me—is not tech-savvy. The tool we will discuss is Zeeschuimer, which can capture data from TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and more by "looking over your shoulder" as you scroll through them. We will also explore the 4CAT interface, which provides a toolkit to process and analyze your raw data. Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom.
BCaT Book Club - Automating Black Joy
This week’s topic is on Black Feminist Speculation! This week, we are reading/listening/watching:
The Trojan Girl - Epiphany 2.0 (N.K. Jemisin)
Escape Pod 338: The Trojan Girl
The Trojan Girl, N.K. Jemisin: FULL Audiobook & Soundscape
M Archive (Alexis Pauline Gumbs)
Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler)
Join us at Skinner 3115 or on Zoom for BCaT Bookclub. To access the materials for this week, visit our Automating Black Joy page.