J. Lee Crandall

Department and Institution: 
Geography, UC Berkeley
Bio/CV: 

Lee Crandall is currently pursuing a PhD in Geography at UC Berkeley, broadly researching the effects of blockchain/cryptocurrencies and digital technologies on infrastructures, lands, and lives. Their dissertation research traces the intersection of venture capitalism, far-right extremism, and techno-authoritarianism as connected to cryptocurrency and plots for new tech-cities around the globe. Building on work in the Frankfurt School, they engage critical theory to better understand the dialectic of technology’s dominating tendencies and its democratizing powers. As a former architect currently pursuing a Designated Emphasis in New Media, they are interested in analyzing the political aesthetics of these movements and countermovements. Previously, they practiced as an architect for over ten years in NYC and Puerto Rico; and taught as a Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Theory at RPI.

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