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College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

African American Studies

Digital Media and Community Initiative

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A project of the African American Studies Program

Creating community and Training for Researchers at the intersection of Black Culture and Digital Studies

The Digital Media and Community (Run:\DM.C) initiative brings African American and digital studies together to expand upon both fields. It makes digital studies more inclusive of African American inquiry and culture and enriches African American studies research with new methods, archives, and tools.

Upcoming RUN:\DM.C Events

Run:\DM.C Past Events

However, we believe that this education is significantly enhanced when students have the resources to develop their own experiences during their time at the University of Florida. Experiential learning opportunities, such as undergraduate research, guest lecture interaction, and mentorship, help students learn by doing. Through these experiences, students gain practical skills that will serve them in their first jobs and careers while developing passions in their chosen field of study.These opportunities allow students to learn about conducting research, critical thinking, and knowledge creation firsthand while growing their critical thinking, problem-solving, and presentation abilities. These experiences often help students to become more culturally competent, learning to interact with people from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds – skills that will serve them well in their next step, whether they pursue graduate school or work in industry or government.Despite all the benefits, many students lack the time and financial resources to invest in their future by taking advantage of experiential learning. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has committed to partnering with the AFAM Program to help provide more students with these types of experiences by creating the UF AFAM Mellon Scholars Program, which will help provide undergraduate research and experiential learning opportunities for high-achieving students participating in the UF African American Studies Program.

Project Description

Politics, Movement, and Joy Event
Kevin C. Winstead, Raven Maragh-Lloyd, Sarah Florini, André Brock, Jasmine McNeally

Run:\DM.C is a space to foster community and training at the intersection of African American Studies and Digital Studies most broadley defined including Digital Media, Social Informatics, Technology Studies, and Digital Humanities. The iniative also provides students with a high-quality learning program that will help foster their passion for the humanities and the social sciences in the digital age while developing their research and professional development skills. This program would enrich the student experience in a variety of ways:

  • Honors (Un)COMMON READS of BLACK DIGITAL STUDIES: Discussion-oriented, one-credit seminar course centered on scholarship at the intersection of technology, algorithms, AI, Digital Media, and African American Studies. For our inaugural (Un)Common Reads, the Spring 2025 reads IDH2930 – Race, Culture, and Algorithms. The internet is not neutral; it is informed by the values of programmers, consumers, and society. This course will explore Saifya Noble’s Algorithms of Oppression to understand how search engines like Google reaffirm bias and create identity.
  • AFAM (UN)COMMON CLASSROOMS: With the AFAM Mellon Scholars Program and the Honors College, Run:\DM.C offers short-term, domestic, trip-based learning opportunities each year, known as (Un)Common Classrooms. For our inaugural Spring Break 2025 trip, Dr. David Canton and Dr. Alyssa P. Cole will host students at the Smithsonian African American Museum in Washington D.C. to the Afrofuturism exhibit, to the National Archives, where students will earn their researchers ID, and to the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.
  • DOUGLASS DAY Transcribe-a-Thon: In collaboration with DouglassDay.org, the Center for Black Digital Research, and the Colored Conventions Projects at Penn State University, Run:\DM.C hosts an annual celebration of Frederick Douglass’ chosen birthday. Douglass Day is a yearly program that marks the birth of Frederick Douglass. Each year,  thousands of people, including collegiate institutions from around the country, help create new & freely available resources for learning about Black history. Frequently focusing on important Black women’s archives, such as Anna Julia Cooper (2020), Mary Church Terrell (2021), and Mary Ann Shadd Cary (2023), students learn skills that translate into the workforce while learning about African American history and culture.
  • Guest Lectures: Run:\DM.C hosts lectures for the UF campus, the local community, and our online audience to participate in each year.
  • Internship OppOrtunities: In collaboration with the African American Studies Program and the Beyond 120 Program, Run:DM.C works to match students with internship opportunities at the intersection of technology.
  • ADVISING & MENTORSHIP: Run:\DM.C works with the Trailblazers organization of UF’s National Society for Black Engineers. Trailblazers is an initiative that provides first-year Black engineering students with a head start, giving them access to valuable professional resources and fostering a stronger community within NSBE while helping them adjust to campus life.
  • RUN:\DM.C STUDIOS: The mission of Run:\DM.C media studios is to highlight and promote the archived narratives of the holdings on the center; to foster debate and community in the field of Black Digital Humanities, Black Digital Media, and Black Digital Studies; provide opportunities for students to learn, train and practice in media arts, and hone their crafts in media production, editing, and development for mobile and dynamic digital environments.

Run:\DM.C News

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