Course Overview
This ten-week seminar introduces participants to a set of freely available online tools that allow researchers to examine crisis-affected areas through satellite imagery, displacement records, population data, and humanitarian maps, without any coding ability, GIS license, or prior technical experience. The seminar is designed for researchers from any discipline, including history, law, journalism, sociology, and human rights, who want to bring visual and spatial evidence into their work in a grounded and honest way.
What makes this kind of work genuinely powerful is the ability to bring different sources together: to read a satellite image of a neighborhood alongside population and demographic data, to explore displacement figures in light of humanitarian records, and to ask what multiple layers of evidence, taken together, reveal about a crisis that no single source could show on its own. Drawing on cases from Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and other conflict-affected regions, the seminar connects these methods directly to broader questions of democratic governance, humanitarian accountability, and the visibility of ordinary people living through extraordinary circumstances.
Working with real images and real data, participants will learn to move between different sources and build a fuller picture of what is happening on the ground. Emphasis is placed not only on how to use these tools, but on how to read them critically, recognizing what the evidence shows, what it leaves out, and whose experiences risk disappearing from the record entirely. The tools introduced across the ten sessions include Sentinel Hub Playground, Google Earth Engine Timelapse, UNOSAT, the IDMC Displacement Viewer, HOT drone imagery, and the Global Human Settlement Layer, all free and accessible to anyone with an internet connection.
By the end, each participant will have produced a short Image Interpretation Memo based on a crisis case of their own choosing, a practical piece of work that draws on multiple sources and reflects the skills developed across the course. This seminar holds particular meaning at a moment when conflicts in Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia, and many other parts of the world continue to displace communities, destroy infrastructure, and restrict access to independent research. It is designed precisely for scholars and researchers who are living and working closest to these realities, including those in exile, and who need practical, accessible tools to keep documenting, analyzing, and bearing witness to what is happening on the ground.
Seminar Leaders
Dr. Yilak Kebede
Research Fellow
Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany
Yilak Akloweg Kebede is an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at Ruhr University Bochum, specializing in digital and spatial history, urbanization, and geospatial analysis. His research uses GIS, satellite imagery, and historical cartography to reconstruct spatial narratives and long-term urban transformation, including a comparative study of urban growth across five African cities and a digital platform reconnecting fragmented historical maps.
Abdul Momin Mansoor
Visiting Research Scholar
University of North Dakota
Abdul Momin Mansoor is a Visiting Research Scholar at the University of North Dakota’s Institute of Policy and Business Analytics, researching economic development, energy policy, and fiscal forecasting. He brings two decades of experience in senior advisory and executive roles in Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance, Parliament, and Office of the President, focused on public finance, infrastructure investment, and institutional reform.
Syllabus and Readings
Course Schedule
tuesday, oct 6
Week 1: Crisis, Governance, and the Political Economy of Data
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
-Specht, D. (Ed.). (2020). Mapping Crisis: Participation,
Datafication and Humanitarianism in the Age of Digital
Mapping. University of London Press. “Introduction: mapping in
times of crisis” (pp. 1–11) — 11 pp
Bigo, D., Isin, E., & Ruppert, E. (Eds.). (2019). Data Politics:
Worlds, Subjects, Rights. Routledge.
“Introduction: Data Politics” (Chapter 1, excerpt pp. 1–5) — 5 pp
Thatcher, J. E., & Dalton, C. M. (2022). Data Power: Radical
Geographies of Control and Resistance. Pluto Press.
“Introduction: Technology and the Axes of Hope and Fear”
(excerpt pp. 1–4) — 4 pp
tuesday, oct 13
Week 2: Displacement, Borders, and Narrative Erasure
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
- IDMC, The displacement continuum: the relationship between
internal displacement and cross-border movement in seven
countries (June 2020) — pp. 4–9 (Introduction and Key
Messages) — 6 pp - OCHA, The State of Open Humanitarian Data 2026 —
excerpt on the data-funding drought (Sections 1–3, pp. 4–9) — 6
pp
3)Specht et al., “Mapping as Tacit Reconstruction of Colonial
Worldviews” — excerpt, original pp. 17–26 — 10 pp
tuesday, oct 20
Week 3: Humanitarianism, Power, and the Conflict Data Ecosystem
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
Aarathi Krishnan (Harvard Berkman/Carr), “Foresight and
Decolonial Humanitarian Tech Ethics — A New Digital
Humanism” — video presentation, ~60 min
Link: https://vimeo.com/563925280
- IASC, Operational Guidance on Data Responsibility in
Humanitarian Action — Executive Summary, Overview &
Principles (pp. 7–19) — 13 pp - CHS Alliance, Humanitarian Accountability Report 2026 —
excerpt from Executive Summary & “Levers for Change”
(approx. pp. 5–12) — 7 pp
Required reading total: ~20 pp + video
Optional :
OCHA, Data Responsibility Guidelines (2025), Section 1:
Introduction (pp. 6–12) — 7 pp
IASC, Operational Guidance, full document — 44 pp
CHS Alliance, Humanitarian Accountability Report 2026, full
report
IATI (International Aid Transparency Initiative) Standard —
browse iatistandard.org
tuesday, oct 27
Week 4: Satellite Imagery, Infrastructure, and Visual Damage Assessment
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
-OCHA, The State of Open Humanitarian Data 2026 —
Section 4: Web Traffic, AI Bots and Open Data (pp. 10–11) — 2
pp
MERIP, “Artificial Humanitarianism” (2025) — 8 pp
https://www.merip.org/2025/01/artificial-humanitarianism/
OCHA, Fit for the Future Series: Interoperability:
Humanitarian Action in a Shared Space (July 2015) — excerpt:
Executive Summary and Introduction (approx. pp. 1–6) — 6 pp
Interoperability, Track 1: Data Protection in Humanitarian
Action Briefing Paper — full document — 4 pp
tuesday, NOV 3
Week 5: Mapping Displacement Economies, Resource Struggles, and Environmental Damage
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
- The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (RDA, pp. 1–12
- Squire & Alozie (2023), Coloniality and Frictions — excerpt,
first half — pp. 1–8
tuesday, NOV 10
Week 6: Visual Politics, Displacement Sites, and Humanitarian Witnessing
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
Awan, N. (2024), “The Visual Politics of Refugeehood,”
Gresham College lecture — video, 60 min + 20 min Q&A
Link: https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/visual-politics-
refugees
- Human Rights Watch (2021), “UN Shared Rohingya Data
Without Informed Consent” — pp. 1–4 — 4 pp - The Engine Room, Biometrics in the Humanitarian Sector
(2023) — Executive Summary (pp. 1–4 of report) — 4 pp - Rothe, D., Fröhlich, C., & Rodriguez Lopez, J. M. (2021).
“Digital Humanitarianism and the Visual Politics of the Refugee
Camp: (Un)Seeing Control.” International Political Sociology,
15(1) — excerpt pp. 41–50 — 10 pp
tuesday, NOV 17
Week 7: Platform Suppression and Search Invisibility
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
Data for Peace 2023 Conference: Baxter (Google) & Pellandra
(UNHCR) — video or transcript
Link: https://cic.nyu.edu/events/data-peace-annual-conference
- Bigo, D., Isin, E., & Ruppert, E. (Eds.). (2019). Data Politics:
Worlds, Subjects, Rights. Routledge. — Chapter on platform
power, excerpt pp. 1–15 — 15 pp - Comparing Platform Content Moderation Guidelines
Meta: Community Standards
YouTube: Community Guidelines
X: The X Rules
TikTok: Community Guidelines
(Browse the linked pages; focus on the sections listed in the
comparative worksheet below. Approx. 5 pp equivalent.)
Optional :
Bigo, Isin & Ruppert (2019), full chapter — pp. 1–22
COMPARE dataset (Content Moderation Policies and Reports)
— https://github.com/transparency-in-content-
moderation/COMPARE
tuesday, NOV 24
Week 8: Time Series Analysis – Participants Begin Their Own Displacement Case Study
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
- IDMC, Global Report on Internal Displacement 2026 (GRID
- — Executive Summary — pp. 1–8 — 8 pp
Link: https://www.internal-
displacement.org/publications/summary-global-report-on-
internal-displacement-2026/
- Trends.Earth, Land Productivity Guide — core methodology
section — pp. 1–8 — 8 pp
Link: Compute Sub-indicators - IDMC / Humanity Centered Data, Climate Change & Disaster
Displacement: 2026 Data Guide — excerpt — pp. 1–4 — 4 pp
Link: https://www.internal-displacement.org/ (search “2026 Data
Guide”)
Tools & Dashboards (browse and explore):
Trends.Earth — Land Change Monitoring Dashboard
Link: https://trends.earth
Off-Nadir Delta — Nighttime Lights Map
Link: https://offnadir-delta.com/nighttime-lights-map
UNHCR — Refugee Data Finder (interactive dashboard)
Link: https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/forcibly-
displaced-and-stateless-persons/visualisation-world.html
IOM — Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Dashboard
Link: https://dtm.iom.int
IDMC — Global Internal Displacement Database (GIDD)
Link: https://www.internal-displacement.org/database/
HDX — HAPI Data Availability Dashboard
Link: https://ocha-dap.github.io/viz-hapi-availability/
World Bank — Light Every Night (data access portal)
Link: https://worldbank.github.io/OpenNightLights/wb-light-
every-night-readme.html
Optional (for further depth):
IDMC, GRID 2026, full report — pp. 1–40 — 40 pp
Trends.Earth, Land Productivity Guide, full documentation —
pp. 1–20 — 20 pp
Climate Change & Disaster Displacement: 2026 Data Guide, full
— pp. 1–15 — 15 pp
Nansen Initiative, Protection Agenda — pp. 1–30 — 30 pp
Link: https://disasterdisplacement.org/wp-
content/uploads/2015/02/PROTECTION-AGENDA-VOLUME-
1.pdf
Trends.Earth, Developer Guide — pp. 1–32 — 32 pp
TUESDAY, dEC 1
Week 9: Archiving, Ethics, and Publication-Ready Evidence
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
Royal Statistical Society, “Misuse of statistics: what does it mean to
be misleading?” — panel discussion (2023), 90 min
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhP6QzoTZO8
(Note: This is the available RSS recording on misleadingness. A
2026 panel may exist; check the RSS website for updates.)
- Humpherson, E., & Saul, J. (2026). Misleadingness: A follow-up
thinkpiece. Office for Statistics Regulation — excerpt: the three
approaches + blended definition — pp. 1–12 — 12 pp
Link: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publications/misleadingness-a-
follow-up-thinkpiece/ - Ethical Visualization and Displacement Data Reader (course-
compiled) — excerpt: poverty-porn critique + consent/community
review — pp. 1–8 — 8 pp
Poverty-Porn Critique: The Guardian (2025) — Link;
Shabbir et al. (2024) — Link
Consent/Community Review: “Data and Ethics –
Cartographies of Courage” — Link; Hepworth (2020) —
Link
Tools & Resources (browse and explore):
OSR — What does OSR think about misleadingness? (new working
definition + case studies)
Link: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publications/what-
does-osr-think-about-misleadingness/
OSR — Misleadingness: A short thinkpiece (2020, three
approaches)
Link:
https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/misleadingness-
a-short-thinkpiece/
OSR — Think TQV: Trustworthiness, Quality and Value (ethical
framework)
Link: https://osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publications/think-
tqv-how-trustworthiness-quality-and-value-provide-an-ethical-
framework-for-building-confidence-and-combating-
misinformation/
Optional (for further depth):
OSR paper, full document — pp. 1–25 — 25 pp
Ethical Visualization and Displacement Data Reader, full — pp. 1–
40 — 40 pp
RSS Data Ethics and Governance Section —
https://rss.org.uk/membership/rss-groups-and-
committees/sections/data-ethics/
TUESDAY, DEC 8
Week 10: Democratic Futures, Ethical Visualization, and Final Reflections
Hosted on Zoom
Suggested Readings:
– Specht, D. (Ed.). (2020). Mapping Crisis: Participation,
Datafication and Humanitarianism in the Age of Digital Mapping.
University of London Press. “Conclusion” — pp. 1–6 — 6 pp
Link: https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/46152
(Note: The book does not have a separate chapter titled
“Conclusion.” The final substantive chapter is Chapter 9,
“Modalities of united statelessness” (pp. 217–252).
Mulder, F. (2025). “Justice in Humanitarian Data.” In Quantifying
International Conflicts. Palgrave Macmillan — excerpt: the five
dimensions of data justice — pp. 1–3 — 3 pp
Link: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10211780/
OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data. (2023). “Data
Responsibility and Accountability to Affected People in
Humanitarian Action.” Guidance Note Series, No. 11 — excerpt:
key takeaways and introduction — pp. 1–2 — 2 pp
Link: https://data.humdata.org/dataset/2048a947-5714-4220-905b-
e662cbcd14c8/resource/725c1295-9e24-40a2-b98f-
ef0844d72208/download/guidance-note-11.pdf
- IASC. (2023). “Principles for Data Responsibility in
Humanitarian Action.” In Operational Guidance on Data
Responsibility in Humanitarian Action — excerpt: the 12 principles
— pp. 1–2 — 2 pp
Link: https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/operational-
response/iasc-operational-guidance-data-responsibility-
humanitarian-action
McElhinney, H., Mazumder, A., Tjalve, M., Madigan, S., &
Spencer, S. (2026). SAFE AI Framework: Standards and Assurance
Framework for Ethical AI in Humanitarian Action. CDAC Network
— excerpt: the governance gap and right to know — pp. 1–3 — 3 pp
Link: https://www.cdacnetwork.org/library/safe-ai-framework
Tools & Resources (browse and explore):
OCHA, Data Responsibility Guidelines (2025 revision) —
https://centre.humdata.org/revised-ocha-data-responsibility-guidelines
Centre for Humanitarian Data — https://centre.humdata.org/data-
responsibility/
Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) — https://data.humdata.org/
Certificates of Satisfactory Completion
Participants who attend 8 out of 10 complete seminar sessions are eligible to receive a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion signed by the Dean of The New School for Social Research.