Francine Barone

Dr. Francine Barone, BA Hons 1st, PhD

Research Associate, Department of Anthropology, University of Kent, United Kingdom (presently based in New York)

Background

I am originally from Long Island, New York. I moved to the UK in 2002 to do my BA (Hons) in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent, where I was awarded a first class honours degree in 2005. I began my PhD in Social Anthropology at Kent in 2006 under the supervision of Prof. David Zeitlyn and Prof. Michael Fischer. I successfully defended my thesis in December 2010.

My primary research interests are communication technologies, digital lifestyles, consumption and new media, including ethnographic approaches to the Internet, mobile phones and computing. My geographic specialization is the northern Mediterranean region and urban environments throughout Europe and North America.

From 2007 to 2009, I conducted 15 months of doctoral fieldwork in Spain. My doctoral thesis, Urban Firewalls: place, space and new technologies in Figueres, Catalonia, analyzes the impact of information and communication technologies and popular media in a Catalan city with reference to national identity, language politics, immigration, multiculturalism and modernity. In my thesis, I explore "online" and "offline" communication practices alongside the concepts of space, performance and boundary-making to elucidate how the Internet is indelibly tied to place-based realities and identities. I therefore advocate an approach to studying the human engagement with technology which emphasizes heightened awareness to place, geography and locality with diminishing reliance on increasingly irrelevant dichotomies of the "real" and the "virtual".

Teaching, training and academic activities

I have taught on the undergraduate modules Computing for Anthropologists, Ethnicity and Nationalism, and Introduction to Social Anthropology. I support the innovative use of new technologies and multimedia in learning and teaching, including collaborative coursework, wikis, blogs, social networks, photo- and video-sharing. In addition to traditional classroom teaching, I enjoy exploring anthropological concepts and concerns through digital methodologies, web building and computer-aided research and embrace opening access to knowledge and education.

Since 2004, I have been employed on several occasions as a research assistant to Dr. David Zeitlyn of the Centre for Social Anthropology and Computing at Kent for projects focusing on new technologies, the Internet, blogs and digital archives. I have also worked in web development and technical positions such as maintaining the Anthropology Department website at Kent, updating the Anthropology Index Online of the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI), and creating a website for the AnthroDataDPA project (on behalf of the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF), Yale University).

Most recently (January 2011), I completed a short-term project researching media and social change with emphasis on Africa, Iran and the Islamic Revolution. This investigated ethnographic case studies of how local people appropriate, understand and interact with new media, from newspapers and radio to television, blogs and interactive social media.

Since May 2009, I have been an administrator at the Open Anthropology Cooperative, a rapidly growing network of researchers committed to collaboration and engagement with other anthropologists, ethnographers and enthusiasts. With over 5,000 members, the OAC now represents the world's largest online community of anthropologists. Open to anyone with an interest in the study of humanity, culture and society, some of our existing initiatives include the OAC Press, Book Reviews, Working Papers and Seminar series in addition to an active discussion network, community blogging and 160 specialist groups. My volunteer role at the OAC spans a variety of activities including site organization, member moderation, network interaction, community building and technical assistance.

For a more detailed academic and employment history, please see my full CV.

More information about my online activities, reflections on learning, doing, and teaching anthropology and analyses of my research experiences can be found on my personal blog.

Research Interests

Consumerism, consumption and social shopping
Urban anthropology and cities
Mediterranean societies
Ethnicity, nationalism, immigration and multiculturalism
Minority language politics
Borderlands
The Internet, computers and mobile technology
Digital lifestyles, programming (incl. Open Source) and "hacking"
User interface design and aesthetics (hardware and software)
Blogs, online social networking and technologically mediated communication
Ethnography, research and methods (online/offline)
Anthropological ethics

Recent Publications and Presentations

My review of Robert Kozinets' Netnography: Doing Ethnographic Research Online will appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford.

My EASA Media Anthropology Network e-Seminar paper is now available for download. The seminar will take place via the medianth mailing list from 15-29 March 2011.

My chapter submission, "New leisure forums for old leisure practices: online and offline interaction and presentations of self in Figueres, Spain", has been accepted for publication in an forthcoming edited collection. [Abstract]

The EASA Media Anthropology Network's e-Seminar Series review of Jenny Cool's (University of Southern California) working paper, "The mutual co-construction of online and onground in Cyborganic" (presented 21 June to 06 July 2010) is available for downloading. Click here to read the excellent discussion between the author and network participants, including my contribution.

For a complete list of publications, talks and conferences, see my full CV.

Curriculum Vitae

View/Download

My Web Content

Analog/Digital (personal blog)
Flickr photostream
Twitter updates
Academia.edu page
Del.icio.us
OAC profile
Anthropology blogs

Recent News

New book reviews coming soon!

I successfully defended my PhD thesis, Urban Firewalls on 16 December 2010.

This academic year (2009-10), I am teaching Ethnicity and Nationalism and Computing for Anthropologists.

Recommended Tools

Firefox
Wordpress
Opera
Zotero
Q10
Notepad++
The Gimp
Nvu
Dev-C++
CCleaner
VLC Media Player
Everything

Contact

[email]*
[Skype]
[ICQ] 577749190
@frnnr

* This email address is for employment and academic inquiries only. If you have a query pertaining to the OAC, please log in to the network to send me a message via Ning.