Forthcoming ‘Designing data justice’ course

In October 2026 the new research-based course ‘Designing data justice’ will kick-start at the Faculty of Law, University of Turku. It is open to both law and geography students and draws upon and contributes to the research being carried out within AgenDa.

Data dominate modern societies. The process of quantification and organisation of the messiness of everyday lives through machine-processed digital information is called datafication. In relation to this, this research-based course examines the complex relationship between data and (in)justice. Empirically, it specifically focuses on how data is a fully material element empowering and/or harming humans. The materiality of data will be experienced by the students who will be asked to ‘feel’ their data in their everyday lives and spaces. Data empowerment and data harm practices will be then interrogated with design methods in class. During the course the students will be thus active in the production of knowledge themselves. This course belongs to the broader field of socio-legal studies, critical data studies, as well as human, urban, legal, and digital geographies.

The course touches upon two of the Focal Points of the Faculty of Law: “Power and justice”, and “Democratic digital futures”, and addresses the Goal 16 of Sustainable Development: “Peace, justice and strong institutions”, in that it critically discusses how societies can be made more just and inclusive by reducing data harms.