Data, Democracy, and the Census: History and Genealogy in Conversation

Tammy Hepps, historian of the local Jewish community, and Dan Bouk, historian of science, will use the publication of Bouk’s Democracy’s Data: The Hidden Stories in the U.S. Census and How to Read Them as an opportunity for the wide-ranging discussion Data, Democracy, and the Census: History and Genealogy in Conversation. The two will look at the ways seemingly bland statistics of the census bureau are actually a rich trove of research material for data scientists and everyday Americans alike. They will demonstrate how close-reading historical census data can acknowledge and honor lives lived at the margins of U.S. society, whether those lives belonged to Jewish people in Homestead or queer folk in Greenwich Village. 5 p.m. Kresge Theater, College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave, 15213.