UC Berkeley’s David Bamman applies data-driven analysis to human artistic output — often with surprising results.
By Charlotte Khadra
May 21, 2026
David Bamman studies culture at a scale few humans ever could. An associate professor in the UC Berkeley School of Information, Bamman uses computational methods to analyze books, films and music, revealing patterns in storytelling, representation and cultural change across decades and even centuries.
In this 101 in 101 video, a series that challenges UC Berkeley faculty to explain their field in 101 seconds, he breaks down the emerging field of cultural analytics, explaining how he uses data to answer big questions about how and why we tell stories.
