- The Biometric Assemblage: Surveillance, Experimentation, Profit, and the Measuring of Refugee Bodies Madianou, Mirca. 2019. The Biometric Assemblage: Surveillance, Experimentation, Profit, and the Measuring of Refugee Bodies. Television & New Media, 20(6), pp. 581-599. ISSN 1527-4764
- Technocolonialism: digital innovation and data practices in the humanitarian response to refugee crises Madianou, Mirca. 2019. Technocolonialism: digital innovation and data practices in the humanitarian response to refugee crises. Social Media and Society, 5(3), pp. 1-13. ISSN 2056-3051
- The appearance of accountability: communication technologies and power asymmetries in humanitarian aid and disaster recovery Madianou, Mirca; Ong, Jonathan Corpus; Longboan, Liezel and Cornelio, Jayeel S.. 2016. The appearance of accountability: communication technologies and power asymmetries in humanitarian aid and disaster recovery. Journal of Communication, 66(6), pp. 960-981. ISSN 0021-9916
- Ambient co‐presence: transnational family practices in polymedia environments Madianou, Mirca. 2016. Ambient co‐presence: transnational family practices in polymedia environments. Global Networks, 16(2), pp. 183-201. ISSN 1470-2266
- Finding a Voice Through Humanitarian Technologies? Communication Technologies and Participation in Disaster Recovery Madianou, Mirca; Longboan, Liezel and Ong, Jonathan. 2015. Finding a Voice Through Humanitarian Technologies? Communication Technologies and Participation in Disaster Recovery. International Journal of Communication, 9, pp. 3020-3038. ISSN 1932–8036
- Digital Inequality and Second-Order Disasters: Social Media in the Typhoon Haiyan Recovery Madianou, Mirca. 2015. Digital Inequality and Second-Order Disasters: Social Media in the Typhoon Haiyan Recovery. Social Media + Society, 1(2), pp. 1-11. ISSN 2056-3051
- Polymedia and Ethnography: Understanding the Social in Social Media Madianou, Mirca. 2015. Polymedia and Ethnography: Understanding the Social in Social Media. Social Media + Society, 1(1), pp. 1-3. ISSN 2056-3051
- Smartphones as Polymedia Madianou, Mirca. 2014. Smartphones as Polymedia. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 19(3), pp. 667-680. ISSN 1083-6101
- Polymedia: Towards a new theory of digital media in interpersonal communication Madianou, Mirca and Miller, Daniel. 2013. Polymedia: Towards a new theory of digital media in interpersonal communication. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(2), pp. 169-187. ISSN 1367-8779
- Humanitarian Campaigns in Social Media: Network Architectures and Polymedia Events Madianou, Mirca. 2013. Humanitarian Campaigns in Social Media: Network Architectures and Polymedia Events. Journalism Studies, 14(2), pp. 249-266. ISSN 1461-670X
- Migration and the accentuated ambivalence of motherhood: the role of ICTs in Filipino transnational families Madianou, Mirca. 2012. Migration and the accentuated ambivalence of motherhood: the role of ICTs in Filipino transnational families. Global Networks, 12(3), pp. 277-295. ISSN 1470-2266
- News as a looking glass: shame and the symbolic power of mediation Madianou, Mirca. 2012. News as a looking glass: shame and the symbolic power of mediation. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 15(1), pp. 3-16. ISSN 1367-8779
- Should you accept a friend’s request from your mother? And other Filipino dilemmas Madianou, Mirca. 2012. Should you accept a friend’s request from your mother? And other Filipino dilemmas. International Review of Social Research, 2(1), pp. 8-27. ISSN 2069-8267
- Crafting Love: letters and cassette tapes in transnational Filipino family communication Madianou, Mirca and Miller, Daniel. 2011. Crafting Love: letters and cassette tapes in transnational Filipino family communication. South East Asian Research, 19(2), pp. 249-272.
- Mobile phone parenting: Reconfiguring relationships between Filipina migrant mothers and their left-behind children Madianou, Mirca and Miller, Daniel. 2011. Mobile phone parenting: Reconfiguring relationships between Filipina migrant mothers and their left-behind children. New Media & Society, 13(3), pp. 457-470. ISSN 1461-4448
- Desperately seeking the news public Madianou, Mirca. 2005. Desperately seeking the news public. Journal of Media Practice, 6(1), pp. 29-39. ISSN 1468-2753
- Contested communicative spaces: identities, boundaries and the role of the media Madianou, Mirca. 2005. Contested communicative spaces: identities, boundaries and the role of the media. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(3), pp. 521-541. ISSN 1369-183X
Professor Mirca Madianou
Mirca studies the social consequences of communication technologies, infrastructures and AI in a global south context.
Staff details
Position
Professor
Department
Media, Communications and Cultural Studies
m.madianou (@gold.ac.uk)
Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups
Mirca Madianou is Professor in the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her current research focuses on the social consequences of communication technologies, infrastructures and artificial intelligence (AI) in a global south context especially in relation to migration and humanitarian emergencies. She is currently Principal Investigator on a British Academy grant on digital identity programmes in refugee camps in Thailand. Her latest book, 'Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful' was published in November 2024. Earlier books include: Mediating the Nation: news, audiences and the politics of identity, and Migration and New Media: transnational families and polymedia. At Goldsmiths, Mirca is academic co-director of the newly established Migrant Futures Institute and co-convenor of the Digital Culture Unit.
Academic qualifications
- PhD Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science 2002
Featured publications
2024:
Technocolonialism: When Technology for Good is Harmful
Book
2021:
Nonhuman humanitarianism: when 'AI for good' can be harmful
Journal Article
2019:
The Biometric Assemblage: Surveillance, Experimentation, Profit, and the Measuring of Refugee Bodies
Journal Article
2019:
Technocolonialism: Digital Innovation and Data Practices in the Humanitarian Response to Refugee Crises
Journal Article
2012:
Migration and New Media: Transnational Families and Polymedia
Book
Grants and awards
2024:
Reimagining digital identity: towards responsible digital identity practices among Karen refugees in Thailand
This is a British Academy funded project under its ODA Challenge-Oriented Research Grants 2024 Programme. The project is a collaboration with Chiang Mai University.
Publications and research outputs
Book
- Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful Madianou, Mirca. 2024. Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful. Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 9781509559022
- Migration and New Media: Transnational Families and Polymedia Madianou, Mirca and Miller, Daniel. 2011. Migration and New Media: Transnational Families and Polymedia. Abingdon and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-67928-2
- Mediating the Nation: News, audiences and the politics of identity Madianou, Mirca. 2005. Mediating the Nation: News, audiences and the politics of identity. London: UCL Press / Routledge. ISBN 978-1844720286
Edited Book
- Ethics of Media Couldry, Nick; Madianou, Mirca and Pinchevski, Amit, eds. 2013. Ethics of Media. London: Palgrave. ISBN 9780230347632
Book Section
- Technological Futures as Colonial Debris: ‘Tech-for-Good’ as Technocolonialism Madianou, Mirca. 2022. Technological Futures as Colonial Debris: ‘Tech-for-Good’ as Technocolonialism. In: Joanna Zylinska, ed. The Future of Media. London: Goldsmiths Press, pp. 281-294. ISBN 9781913380144
- Technocolonialism Madianou, Mirca. 2021. Technocolonialism. In: Lilie Chouliaraki and Anne Vestergaard, eds. Routledge Handbook of Humanitarian Communication. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 185-202. ISBN 9781138230576
- Polymedia and Mobile Communication Madianou, Mirca. 2020. Polymedia and Mobile Communication. In: Richard Ling; Leopoldina Fortunati; Gerard Goggin; Lim Sun Sun and Li Yuling, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Communication and Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 68-81. ISBN 9780190864385
Article
- Polymedia Life Madianou, Mirca. 2021. Polymedia Life. Pragmatics and Society, 12(5), pp. 859-866. ISSN 1878-9714
- Nonhuman humanitarianism: when ‘AI for good’ can be harmful Madianou, Mirca. 2021. Nonhuman humanitarianism: when ‘AI for good’ can be harmful. Information, Communication and Society, 24(6), pp. 850-868. ISSN 1369-118X
- A second-order disaster? Digital technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic Madianou, Mirca. 2020. A second-order disaster? Digital technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Social Media + Society, 6(3), ISSN 2056-3051
Report
- Reproducing colonial legacies: technocolonialism in humanitarian biometric practices Madianou, Mirca. 2020. Reproducing colonial legacies: technocolonialism in humanitarian biometric practices. Technical Report. Goldsmiths, University of London.
Media engagements
2025:
Technocolonialism
New Books Network podcast
2024:
Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful
LSE public lecture podcast
Conferences and talks
2024:
Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful
Public Lecture at the LSE to launch my new book, Technocolonialism. December 5 2024
2025:
Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful
Lecture at the University of Bielefeld on my new book, Technocolonialism. January 21 2025
2024:
Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful
Book talk at New York University's Institute of Public Knowledge, September 18 2024
2025:
Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful
Lecture at King's College London, Department of Digital Humanities, March 5 2025
2025:
Technocolonialism: when technology for good is harmful
Part of the 'Towards a Decolonized Artificial Intelligence' seminar series, University of Milan, 28 March 2025
