Current projects
PhD
I'm currently conducting fieldwork as part of an exploratory, multimethods research project forming the basis of my PhD in anthropology at the University of Adelaide (Ethics ID H-2016-203).
The project is on digitally-mediated communication, sociality, and future-making practices, as they relate to the contemporary space industry and its various networks and communities. A key focus is on the role of social and new media in imagining/realising possibilities, coordinating projects, promoting projects, communicating/disseminating information/content to various publics, and accessing/using/acting on information/content. I’m interested in what human and technological futures are up for grabs in the contemporary moment, and how we use various technologies to imagine, access, share, and make real those possibilities. Space is a great case for this, because there are so many projects being undertaken currently, by a wide variety of actors; because space inspires people in big ways and means a lot to them; and because it allows me to explore some really interesting ideas of ‘frontiers’ in action on two fronts at once – outer space and the digital. With this project, I hope to generate a picture of the contemporary space landscape that connects big visions and stories to organisations, projects, and people (in the industry and in the general public), by focussing on concrete practices, actions, relationships, and information/objects as they move through networks and communities.
To explore these issues, I am conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Australia, the US, and online. Participants include space scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, students, advocacy organisations, science communicators, social media personalities, aspiring astronauts, fan & public groups/networks, general members of the public, and space artists & architectural/concept/future designers, from all around the world. I interview participants (informal-semiformal) either in-person or online through email, chat, Skype, etc. and do participant observation with them (basically hanging out with people, watching what they do, and participating with them as researcher). The fieldwork is supplemented with social media analysis and social network mapping & analysis of publicly available and project-specific data, particularly to explore how space projects/organisations/actors use social media and what strategies work well, how information and media objects move through social networks, and how people/publics access and engage with such information and objects. I hope to extend this and explore concepts in more depth later in the project, by exploring discourse analysis (of news/popular media content) and text-mining as potentially useful/complementary methods.
The aim is to produce a thesis, along with academic and popular/open-access articles & presentations, in the interests of access and applicability beyond limited academic circles. Data I collect from interviews and observation are in the form of notes, and de-identified as standard practice, and will go to inform my analysis, writing, and outreach activities. *Participants must be over 18 years of age.
I have just completed a first round of fieldwork in the US, and am currently based in Australia, as I am working intensively on several online projects and fieldwork tasks. I attended the IAC2017 in Adelaide this September as fieldworking researcher, and also presented some preliminary results of my ongoing research, as well as another paper associated with one of my key case studies (PMAS17). I will be conducting Australian-based fieldwork late 2017, and am hoping to return to the States to revisit participants and further develop my work in early/mid 2018. I'm always on the lookout for new participants, so if you think you might be interested in participating in the project, want to find out more, or would like to discuss collaboration on a project of your own, hit me up! Email me at danielle.lemieux@adelaide.edu.au or check out my Contacts page for other ways to get in touch!
Below is a downloadable form (word, .docx) of the Project Information & Consent forms - please complete the consent form (name, date, signature, check the box) and return it to me via email, and save/keep a copy for your own records. A link to a Google Forms condensed version of the project information and consent form is also available below, if you would prefer to complete the consent form in-browser (requires name, date, & check-the-box). Let me know if you have any questions or concerns - I'm happy to chat!
Consent Form Option 1: Google Forms project info & consent form link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ijzRPj1kUTumCN04F48R86Xx-CFaMcwEuR1B2S5SbQo
I'm currently conducting fieldwork as part of an exploratory, multimethods research project forming the basis of my PhD in anthropology at the University of Adelaide (Ethics ID H-2016-203).
The project is on digitally-mediated communication, sociality, and future-making practices, as they relate to the contemporary space industry and its various networks and communities. A key focus is on the role of social and new media in imagining/realising possibilities, coordinating projects, promoting projects, communicating/disseminating information/content to various publics, and accessing/using/acting on information/content. I’m interested in what human and technological futures are up for grabs in the contemporary moment, and how we use various technologies to imagine, access, share, and make real those possibilities. Space is a great case for this, because there are so many projects being undertaken currently, by a wide variety of actors; because space inspires people in big ways and means a lot to them; and because it allows me to explore some really interesting ideas of ‘frontiers’ in action on two fronts at once – outer space and the digital. With this project, I hope to generate a picture of the contemporary space landscape that connects big visions and stories to organisations, projects, and people (in the industry and in the general public), by focussing on concrete practices, actions, relationships, and information/objects as they move through networks and communities.
To explore these issues, I am conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Australia, the US, and online. Participants include space scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, students, advocacy organisations, science communicators, social media personalities, aspiring astronauts, fan & public groups/networks, general members of the public, and space artists & architectural/concept/future designers, from all around the world. I interview participants (informal-semiformal) either in-person or online through email, chat, Skype, etc. and do participant observation with them (basically hanging out with people, watching what they do, and participating with them as researcher). The fieldwork is supplemented with social media analysis and social network mapping & analysis of publicly available and project-specific data, particularly to explore how space projects/organisations/actors use social media and what strategies work well, how information and media objects move through social networks, and how people/publics access and engage with such information and objects. I hope to extend this and explore concepts in more depth later in the project, by exploring discourse analysis (of news/popular media content) and text-mining as potentially useful/complementary methods.
The aim is to produce a thesis, along with academic and popular/open-access articles & presentations, in the interests of access and applicability beyond limited academic circles. Data I collect from interviews and observation are in the form of notes, and de-identified as standard practice, and will go to inform my analysis, writing, and outreach activities. *Participants must be over 18 years of age.
I have just completed a first round of fieldwork in the US, and am currently based in Australia, as I am working intensively on several online projects and fieldwork tasks. I attended the IAC2017 in Adelaide this September as fieldworking researcher, and also presented some preliminary results of my ongoing research, as well as another paper associated with one of my key case studies (PMAS17). I will be conducting Australian-based fieldwork late 2017, and am hoping to return to the States to revisit participants and further develop my work in early/mid 2018. I'm always on the lookout for new participants, so if you think you might be interested in participating in the project, want to find out more, or would like to discuss collaboration on a project of your own, hit me up! Email me at danielle.lemieux@adelaide.edu.au or check out my Contacts page for other ways to get in touch!
Below is a downloadable form (word, .docx) of the Project Information & Consent forms - please complete the consent form (name, date, signature, check the box) and return it to me via email, and save/keep a copy for your own records. A link to a Google Forms condensed version of the project information and consent form is also available below, if you would prefer to complete the consent form in-browser (requires name, date, & check-the-box). Let me know if you have any questions or concerns - I'm happy to chat!
Consent Form Option 1: Google Forms project info & consent form link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ijzRPj1kUTumCN04F48R86Xx-CFaMcwEuR1B2S5SbQo
Consent Form Option 2: Project info sheet & consent forms for participants (word docx):
| participant_paperwork.docx |
Poland Mars Analogue Simulation Mission 2017
As part of my fieldwork, I'm also on the Media & Outreach Team for the Poland Mars Analogue Simulation, an exciting project organised by the Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC, space students and young professionals organisation). PMAS17 launched this July 31st, and was a planetary surface simulation of lunar and Mars human exploration missions, conducted in the M.A.R.S. Laboratory and ABM Space in Poland. It ran for 2 weeks, with 6 analogue astronauts in isolation, and a Mission support team of over 25. The simulation addressed several key research areas (geology, psychology, robotics, biology, & astronomy) to generate novel findings of use to future exploration missions, test current tools and protocols, and engage the public in space exploration through significant outreach efforts (including public events, student competitions, social media outreach). I assisted in outreach efforts by producing and sharing content (Twitter, Facebook, newsletter campaigns), as well as working on 2 papers for outreach & areas related to my project, presented at the International Astronautical Congress 2017, in Adelaide, Australia. Though the mission has recently concluded, media work (participant observation) is ongoing, and analysis of much of the data collected in the lead-up to and during the mission remains.
Papers & Presentations
Co-author & presenter-as-proxy of the technical paper Why Space Colonies Will Not Solve Terrestrial Problems, presented in Session 2 (Contribution of Space Activities to Solving Global Societal Issues) of the 15th International Academy of Astronautics Symposium on Visions and Strategies for the Future (D4) at the 68th International Astronautical Congress held 25-29 September 2017 in Adelaide, South Australia. You can find the abstract link here, & I am happy to provide the paper on request.
Co-author of the paper Preliminary Results of the Poland Mars Analogue Simulation, presented in Session 2 (Human Exploration of Mars) of the 20th International Academy of Astronautics Symposium on Human Exploration of the Solar System (A5) at the 68th International Astronautical Congress held 25-29 September in Adelaide, South Australia. You can find the abstract link here, & I am happy to provide the paper on request.
Author of the piece, Social and New Media in Space Projects and Networks: Preliminary Findings of Mixed-Methods Ethnographic Research in Australia, the US, and Online, presented in Session 7 (New Worlds - Non-Traditional Space Education and Outreach) of the Space Education and Outreach Symposium (E1) at the 68th International Astronautical Congress held 25-29 September in Adelaide, South Australia. You can find the paper here.
Other Research Interests & Projects
I am interested in other possibilities to do with digitally-mediated communication and sociality, especially in regards to politics, gender, and sexuality. I sometimes research and write on pop culture and subcultures, fashion, femininity, cultural figures (like the shojo), utopian thinking, environmental and citizen movements, & animism and relationality as ontologies and ethics. I am also interested in language-learning and multilingual research & writing, as well as exploring research possibilities around social media & social network analysis, information visualisation, big data, digital humanities & ethnography, and science writing, especially as they relate to methodologies for, and communication of research.
I am currently working on papers focussing on the possibilities of fourth wave feminism, the idea of weaponised femininity, the use of & identification with shojo as cultural figure in popular imagination, the political possibilities/limitations of a self-aware cute aesthetic, and the broader commodification of feminism in contemporary contexts.
I am also working on a piece that will hopefully grow over time to address the issue of how to do mixed-methods research, and particularly, how to conduct ethnography-as-method in conjunction with newer digital tools/methods/programs, and in newer digitally-mediated contexts, based on review of available literature and my own research, which tests those available methods 'on the ground', in an exploratory way.
If you have any interest in, or recommendations on these research areas, rather than my PhD proper, please don't hesitate to reach out, I'd love to hear what you have to say!
Image: US East Coast from ISS - Credit: NASA, International Space Station