Reginold Royston is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, jointly appointed in the Information School and the Department of African Cultural Studies. Dr. Royston is a digital ethnographer, and does research in Ghana, the U.S., and the Netherlands, examining diaspora media. As a researcher, tech developer and professor of information studies, he has produced dozens of new media apps and developed social media campaigns with students and collaborators. At Wisconsin, Professor Royston is the co-convener of the Black Arts + Data Futures group, which holds digital humanities workshops. He worked for 15 years as a reporter, graphics designer, and cultural critic for Knight Ridder, Village Voice Media, and NationalGeographic.com. He has been active in community organizations in Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Oakland, C.A. Dr. Royston received his B.A. from Howard University, and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

In this talk, Dr. Reynolds will discuss his on-the-ground research with tech entrepreneurs in Ghana, and his work as a digital ethnographer in African online communities. Using the broader notion of techne ("the material arts"), Dr. Royston will also describe his adjacent research projects in African podcasting, and digital dance/music subcultures in the U.S. He will demonstrate how this research in vernacular innovation informs his teaching of tech design for social impact.