Centering Gender: A Feminist Analysis of Makerspaces and Digital Humanities Centers

Abstract

The maker movement, a subculture affiliated with a do-it-yourself ethos and, more recently, a passion for digital technologies, has been growing over the last two decades and is making its way onto the university campus . Digital humanities (DH) centers in particular have taken up the maker ethos, incorporating digital technologies such as 3D printers and microcomputers into their spaces. While recent literature acknowledges both the lack of female presence in makerspaces and a desire for more diversity in the digital humanities, no study of making has yet employed a feminist approach to understanding why and how these issues arise in the first place. The Centering Gender Project aims to do just this, by employing Wajcman’s (2004) theory of TechnoFeminism in an examination of public and academic examples of making. Martin's talk will showcase preliminary findings from her first on-site visits to makerspaces, and challenge the audience to think through ways their learning spaces could diversify their population.