Newspapers, Technology, and a Shared Western Identity. Overcoming the problem of geolocating «The West»
Can technology drive globalization and cultural homogenization in Western societies? The EU-funded research project GLOTECH (2021–2023), led by Elena Fernández Fernández at the University of Zurich and the University of Copenhagen/DTU, explored this question using big data and computational methods. It analyzed eight newspapers of record in world capitals and one suburban newspaper across eight Western countries, spanning nearly 200 years (1830–2018).
The results point to a shared «Western Voice» on technology that transcends editorial differences and national borders.
About the speaker:
Elena Fernández Fernández is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Luxembourg, where she works within the Deep Data Science of Digital History Doctoral Training Unit and the Digital History and Historiography research group. Her research focuses on the computational analysis of modernity and lies at the intersection of digital humanities, history, and data science. She is also a Lecturer at the University of Zurich, where she teaches courses in data science. Elena holds a PhD in Hispanic Languages and Literatures from the University of California, Berkeley, and has previously held Marie Skłodowska-Curie and EuroTech postdoctoral fellowships.
When / Wann: November 13, 2026, 11:00 - 13:00
Where / Wo: Digital Society Initiative, Rämistrasse 69, 8001 Zurich
Language / Sprache: English
Registration / Anmeldung: Link
Organisation: DSI Community Digital Humanities
Program
| 11:00 - 12:00 | Talk & Q&A - Dr. Elena Fernández Fernández |
| 12:00 - 13:00 | Apéro |