Critical Theory and Quantification

If post-truth political discourse might be characterized by a play on affective predispositions and bodily responses of old beliefs that re-appear as new, then we might understand post-truth as a play on the ‘error’ of quantitative instrumental reason. This paper will rethink the instrumentality of quantitative social science reason via a new materialist reconceptualizing of ‘error’, the stochastic term, and the randomness of quantitative modeling. Not only is this necessary for developing a critical theory of quantification but also to move toward a sharper understanding and critique of the affective play of post-truth political discourse.

Ezekiel Dixon-Román is Associate Professor and Chair of the Data Analytics for Social Policy Certificate Program in the School of Social Policy & Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 @ 11:30am-12:45pm | UMass Amherst Furcolo 101

Video of the Dixon-Román Lecture will be available soon.