When Awa Hanane Diagne began her studies in the Faculty of Arts & Science, she was envisioning completing a degree in neuroscience. Fast-forward to Fall 2023, however, and Diagne is graduating with an honours bachelor of arts major in sociocultural anthropology, with minors in critical studies in equity and solidarity, and women and gender studies.
That's not because she left her interest in science behind - rather, Diagne's undergraduate years saw her explore how the STEM fields and social sciences intersect, particularly in ways that are experienced by marginalized communities. Her research projects included exploring such innovative themes as "how alternative and Black modes of thinking, creating and being can be fostered in spite of the omnipotence of Big Science and Tech."
Along the way, the University College student participated in a number of experiential learning opportunities including three summer internships as a Loran Scholar - one of only 36 students across Canada selected.
Diagne, who is now pursuing a master's degree at the Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology, spoke to writer Cynthia Macdonald about her undergraduate years at U of T.
Your undergraduate years included working as a research assistant on Associate Professor Edward Jones-Imhotep's 'Black Androids: History & the Technological Underground' project. What is the project about?
The project has been developing a database of automata that took the form of Black humans - robots that reproduced the trope of Black people as servants, and were deeply racist. But although the project's name may focus on Black androids, its real purpose is to analyze Black technological experience. I am particularly grateful for how this project has allowed to think through the deep synergy between Blackness and technology, and also how counter-histories are always identifiable within the historical truisms we may take for granted.
You also wrote an independent study exploring social issues surrounding the Tesla Bot developed by Elon Musk's Tesla - what prompted you to explore this topic?
I found it interesting that this robot, which you could either use as a servant in your house or as a worker in a factory, is emerging after a long line of lawsuits were lodged against the company - in particular by Black workers contesting racial segregation and exploitation in the workplace. A lesson from the Black Androids project that I think is also reflected in this case is how the manufacturing of androids rises in times of rebellion. Writing that essay and working full-time on the Black Androids project during the summer of 2022 was the academic highlight of my undergrad.
Were social concerns around technology a theme that you encountered during your internships as well?
Yes - I also did an internship with Women's Shelters Canada and worked on their technology safety project. The project has produced data reports for use in advocacy, but also toolkits for women's safety showing women how to use technology safely and suggesting ways to avoid surveillance or abuse from intimate partners.
In my time on the project, I worked on authoring a report that focused on bringing disability justice and concerns about assistive tech into conversations on tech-facilitated gender-based violence. I did so with the brilliant support and guidance of anti-violence workers based at Women's Shelters Canada and [Assistant Professor] Zoë Wool in the department of anthropology.
You also interned with Canadian Blood Services this past summer. What did you focus on there?
Growing up with a mother deeply involved in sickle cell advocacy at the provincial (in my home province of Québec) and national level, I have always been very committed to increasing awareness of sickle cell disease. It's a blood disorder that affects about 5,500 Canadians, mostly people of colour; many patients rely on regular blood transfusions. I wanted to learn about the types of research the organization does, and about their initiatives that focus on recruiting racialized folks across Canada to donate blood and stem cells.
There's undoubtedly a history of blood operators being exclusionary, and demands for systemic change on the part of sickle cell advocacy organizations - among many other stakeholders - have shaped institutional transformations that are underway at Canadian Blood Services. Working there has been very relevant to the work I'm doing in my master's degree, which concentrates on how conceptions of race circulate in transfusion medicine in Canada.
What stands out for you as you look back and reflect on your undergraduate years?
At U of T, you have access to academic programs that are very edifying, with amazing professors and mentors. Originally, my thought was to do a STEM degree in neuroscience, then bioethics - and I landed on anthropology in the end! I feel grateful to be where I am, because I'm really happy with the work I'm doing now and the people I get to learn from. The financial and social support I received from the Loran Program throughout this journey is a privilege for which I am thankful, and that I feel must be acknowledged as well.
