Home Department: School of Information
Director of the School of Information
SLAT Areas of Specialization: Sociocultural Dimensions of L2 Learning
Catherine Brooks (PhD, University of California) is a Professor and the iSchool's Director. She is also the founding Director of the Center for Digital Society and Data Studies.
Her primary research interest focuses on day-to-day language use in social contexts. She is most interested in the instructional or social uses of communication technologies, the varied opportunities for the co-construction of knowledge, relationships, and identities, as well as new possibilities for science communication. Her research works across disciplinary boundaries and draws on a variety of academic traditions and methodologies. She teaches courses that focus on social media, information policy issues, and human encounters with new technologies. Alongside her scholarly work, she has published in outlets such as Scientific American and Wired.
Brooks is currently working with international partners (18 total universities and organizations around the globe) on a large ESRC project, "Ways of being in a digital age: A systematic review" led by Liverpool's Institute of Cultural Capital.