The digital, it might safely be stated, is the language of the present. Its pervasiveness spans the mammoth structures of governance to the intimate intricacies of lived worlds. Beyond a descriptive nod to far-reaching digitality, how do we pry open digital mediation as quests for dignity as well as the very means of its undermining?
Centre for Digital Dignity is a research initiative to dissect complex relationship between digital cultures and political participation, and advance critical inquiry on the political impacts of online media and artificial intelligence. Founded by media anthropologist Sahana Udupa, the centre has a core team of researchers based at the University of Munich (LMU), working with a global network of collaborators.
Our interventions in digital research have centered upon long-term ethnographic investigations, emphasis on historical awareness, collaborative mixed methods (data science and qualitative research), and multimodal engagements. The projects range from ethnographic studies of online media cultures in India, Germany, Brazil and Kenya to global comparative studies of extreme speech, artificial intelligence and hate speech moderation.
Resources, Events, News, Podcasts and Projects offer some glimpses of our exploration.
Call for Papers
International Communication Association Preconference Cape Town 2026
Global Disruptions: Platforms, Power, and Contested Communication
OUT NOW open access
Digital Hate and the Global Conjuncture of Extreme Speech (Indiana University Press)
UN Research Paper: Digital Technology and Extreme Speech
