ANNALISA PELIZZA
I am Annalisa, a researcher, project leader and professor based between the Italy and Netherlands. Over the years, I have been active in heterogeneous fields, from academia to media art, from community media to government large-information systems. The passion for research, analytical curiosity and fun in reshuffling categories has been the common denominator that made undertaking such heterogeneous endeavours possible.
Currently I am full professor of Science and Technology Studies (STS) at the University of Bologna, where I hold the chair in Sociology of Communication Processes. Before joining Bologna, I was associate professor at the Science, Technology and Policy Studies department of the University of Twente, where I am now visiting professor. At Processing Citizenship I am the Principal Investigator, interested in how information systems for population management entail long-term but unnoticed transformations in the modern order of authority, in particular in European polities. To achieve this goal, I am used to analyse technical minutiae, like for example classifications and standards used in databases.
Over the years my research has spanned from digital communities to mixed methods to study digital aggregates, from digital security artefacts to algorithmic governance, from information systems to blockchains and governance by technology. Generally speaking, I am interested in how data infrastructures mediate broader political transformations.
I have been luckly enough that my ideas have been sustained by excellence-oriented programs, at European as well as national level. In this regard, I have experienced how generous and innovation-oriented the scholarly community can be, and I am glad to contribute to make this known, also through outreach activities. Furthermore, I act as editorial board member and reviewer for various STS, policy and communication science journals, and am active member of international STS associations.
In the past I also worked as project manager and ethnographer of large-scale government ICT projects, at governmental organizations and engineering companies. In that capacity, I have learnt to be a project and procurement leader, driven by the belief that successful projects are those that align multiple legitimate visions.
During my studies, I was involved in the community of neighborhood TV-broadcaster Telestreet. In this context I designed and produced media art performances and installations at different venues Europe-wide. During my PhD and after I have also collaborated with Ars Electronica, as a member of its International Advisory Board on Digital Communities. Since then, I have never lost the pleasure of “opening up the machine".
You can read my website or my publications (also on Academia), follow me @nisa00 or write me at apelizza [at] processingcitizenship [dot] eu