Elliott Hauser wins 2019 Dissertation Research Award

Press release
8/12/2019
Media contact:
Rory Litwin, rory@litwinbooks.com

We are pleased to announce the winner of the 2019 Litwin Books Award for Ongoing Dissertation Research in the Philosophy of Information. We are granting this year’s award to Elliott Hauser of the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science, based on his dissertation project theorizing the formation of certainty in information systems.

The award committee stated:

“Hauser’s dissertation work is a fascinating project on how information systems construct truth, and what truth means in systems (like credit scoring and the Do Not Fly list). This is a timely issue as our “post-truth era” and “algorithm society” demand new investigations of truth. The work is well-informed and rigorous, and these complicated issues are explained with welcome clarity. Another strength of this work is its being a “full suite” philosophical investigation: ontological grounding, epistemological focus, and ethical implications.”

The award consists of $1000 and a certificate suitable for framing.

Since this award is for ongoing research, other applicants who are still working on their dissertations will be eligible to enter their work next year, and we encourage them to do so.

For more information about the award, please go here.