Beyond the Technology: The Need for Identity-Inclusive Computing Education

Harmful technology development is often attributed to the lack of diversity in computing. Yet, this lack of diversity is not always attributed to the harmful academic/professional environments that are dominated by white and Asian, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, middle-to-upper-class men. Instead, most interventions focus on the assumed deficits of people from groups that are historically underrepresented in computing. This talk discusses the importance of identity-inclusive computing education and some of my current efforts to impact the people, policies, and practices that have influenced who gets to create and consume technology.

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By and featuring Dr. A. Nicki Washington

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Speaker Details

Dr. Nicki Washington is a professor of the practice of computer science at Duke University and the author of Unapologetically Dope: Lessons for Black Women and Girls on Surviving and Thriving in the Tech Field. Her career in higher education began at Howard University as the first Black female faculty member in the Department of Computer Science. Her professional experience also includes Winthrop University, The Aerospace Corporation, and IBM. She is a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University (B.S., ‘00) and North Carolina State University (M.S., ’02; Ph.D., ’05), becoming the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in computer science at the university and 2019 Computer Science Hall of Fame Inductee. She is a native of Durham, NC.

Series: Race and Technology: A Research Lecture Series