As the digital world expands, Communication Arts is building a team of scholars whose research and teaching can propel the field forward. We are honored to have Matthew Hannah join our department as faculty in digital studies this fall to expand our impact in this area.
Professor Hannah’s research focuses on how digital platforms and environments facilitate and enable the spread of extremism and conspiracy theories. He seeks opportunities to help student conduct research on and find ways for that research to transcend UW–Madison and impact the broader world. Hannah also hopes to utilize the proximity of the university to the Wisconsin state capitol and find ways to collaborate with stakeholders on information challenges that impact citizens of Wisconsin.
Hannah joins us from Purdue University, where in addition to his research and teaching, he built a digital humanities program for students. Here at UW-Madison, he will use that experience to serve as the director of the new Digital Scholarship Hub housed on the second floor of Memorial Library. The Hub will enable students to work on projects geared towards media studies, science and technology, internet studies, and computational methods.
This spring, Professor Hannah will be teaching a course on American Conspiracy Theories, which offers a survey of conspiracy theories from before the United States became a country through the present day. By the end of the course, students will gain an understanding of conspiracy theory history and develop their capacities to have difficult conversations with others about conspiracy beliefs.
Professor Hannah is also eager to develop new courses for students who are interested in studying online extremism as well as mis- and disinformation, as these themes fit well into the framework of digital studies and other areas of research in Communication Arts.
We are grateful to have Hannah’s eagerness and expertise present in our department and are sure his contributions will provide revolutionary research and learning opportunities for students in the years to come. Welcome to UW, Professor Hannah!