I am an interdisciplinary scholar of media industries and culture, specializing in games, digital media, and film. I work and teach as an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream in the Book & Media Studies program at St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto, with a status only cross-appointment to UofT’s Cinema Studies Institute.
My research project, Indie Interfaces, was supported by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant and explores the production, distribution, and reception of independent or “indie” digital games. I am also co-investigator on the Swarming San Diego Comic-Con SSHRC Insight Grant, using innovative methods to study the role of fan conventions in contemporary media industries. I co-edited Beyond the Sea: Navigating Bioshock, and co-founded Toronto Outdoor Picture Show. Previously, I was President of the Canadian Game Studies Association and held a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship at Concordia University’s Technoculture, Art and Games Research Centre. I completed my Ph.D. in Communication & Culture at York University. 🎯
Read about my teaching in “Nintendo for homework? First-year students discover the emerging field of video game studies” (UofT Arts & Science News, 2019) and “Teaching with Twitch” (St. Michael’s College News, 2020).
Photo credit: László Pekar