People

Dr. Hong-An Wu is a community-based educator, new media artist, and interdisciplinary researcher who investigates the intersection of critical pedagogy and play. Specifically, her work focuses on developing pedagogical approaches that activate civic engagement through the creation and use of digital and interactive technologies, such as video games, for social justice. Currently, she is serving as an assistant professor in the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication at the University of Texas at Dallas.

website: www.wuhongann.tw

email: hongan.wu@utdallas.edu

Dr. Josef Nguyen (he/him/his) is an assistant professor of critical media studies in the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication at The University of Texas at Dallas. He is working on a book exploring contemporary debates surrounding youth, digital media, and creative labor titled The Makings of Creative Digital Youth in Early Twenty-First-Century America (under contract with University of Minnesota Press). He is also interested in feminist and queer game studies, the politics of consent, and DIY, craft, and maker cultures. His work appears in Configurations, Cultural Politics, Lateral, and Transformative Works and Cultures.

website: www.josefnguyen.net

email: josef.nguyen@utdallas.edu

Pursuing their Bachelor’s degree in Arts Technology and Emerging Communication, Amory (they/them) is fascinated with rigging and video game design. Amory is currently the President of Women in Games at UTD, an organization that strives to provide a safe space for anyone interested in games. When they’re not juggling too many projects and classes, you’ll find them hanging out with friends or playing puzzle games at home with a cat in their lap.

email: Amory.Beardsley@utdallas.edu

Atanur Andıç is a Ph.D. student in the program of Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication at the University of Texas at Dallas where he is also working as a research assistant at the studio for Mediating Play. Atanur did his Master’s Degree in Communication Studies at Kadir Has University in Istanbul. He is the co-founder of FOLT spaces art initiative. His scholarly interests are video game studies, digital heritage studies, and critical media studies.

email: axa180034@utdallas.edu

An aspiring storyteller, Cameron Irby is fascinated by the roles narratives, myths, and tall tales play in our lives, from the ways the news is reported to the lore hidden behind our favorite games. Cameron received his MA in English from the University of Louisiana at Monroe and is currently enrolled in the ATEC program as a Ph.D. student and as Dr. Nguyen’s research assistant. His list of scholarly interests also includes the resurgence of role-playing games, games and sexuality, online communities and culture, and fandom.

email: cli170000@utdallas.edu

Dr. Cenk Köknar is a lecturer (the equivalent to an assistant professorship) of game design in the School of Arts and Creative Industries at the University of East London. His research interests include but are not limited to experimental video game design, play and game studies, inclusive game design, and gaming cultures.

website: cenkkoknar.wordpress.com

email: c.koknar@uel.ac.uk

Chelsea Brtis (her/she) is a game designer who creates with the purpose of critically thinking through topics such as climate change, consumption, and gender representation.  Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s of Architecture and an MFA in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication where she focused in Game Studies and Development.  Currently she is an adjunct professor for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Communication Arts Department.

website: bakiara.itch.io

email: clbrtis@gmail.com

Diamond is an artist, video game developer, and artist based in Dallas, Texas. Through individual and collaborative projects, Diamond discovered the power environmental storytelling and transformative properties of a well-designed game. In her free time Diamond enjoys reading Fanfiction, and playing Skyrim. Diamond is am interested in the intersections of culture, communication, representation and narrative storytelling through the medium of digital games.

website: https://diamond-beverly.weebly.com

Jack Murray is a PhD Student in the Texts and Technology program at the University of Central Florida. Jack also received an M.A. in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication and a B.S. in Software Engineering both from the University of Texas at Dallas. Their research is interested in the intersections of analog and digital games and play, specifically looking at the ways that games mediate the relationships between players and technology. Jack is also interested in designing and building games and controllers that disrupt normative configurations of play. When not thinking about games, weird controllers, or fencing, Jack likes to collect irresponsible amounts of board games, plush figures, and fake fantasy creature skulls while also telling his dog, Kiska, how much of a good girl she is

website: www.jackademia.com

email: jack@jackademia.com

twitter: @jackademia

Jazmine is working on her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Practice at the University of Texas at Dallas. She wants to make a name for herself as a video game designer and is also heavily obsessed with cats. Her art consists of a variety of mediums, and she plans to continue that trend through her graduate school process.

website: jazmineqjones.com 

Dr. Juan Llamas-Rodriguez is assistant professor of transnational media in the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication at the University of Texas at Dallas. His research and teaching mobilize media theories to critically analyze social phenomena on a global scale.

website: www.llamas-rodriguez.com

email: juan.llamasrodriguez@utdallas.edu

Luke Hernandez is currently a master’s student in ATEC studying Emerging Media Studies. Their research interest include queer studies, video game studies, sexuality studies, and pleasure politics. They are an aspiring writer and poet based in Aquarius.

email: Luke.Hernandez@utdallas.edu

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lukio_andrews_hernan/

Pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication, Mohammed Mizanur Rashid’s academic curiosity resides in the intersections of critical media studies, media literacies and game studies. Rashid (He/Him) is particularly interested in new media literacy projects through accessible game design approaches that promote empathy, inclusivity, and social justice. His educational background includes an undergraduate degree in American and English Literature, and a Master’s degree in Cultural Studies, both of which precipitated in constructing his identity as a poet-activist. Professionally, he began his career as a communications expert for the United States Embassy in Bangladesh, and later redirected his commitments to academia.

email: mohammed.rashid@utdallas.edu

Sam Owens has a Bachelors of Science in Visualization from the University of Texas A&M and is currently working on receiving her Master of Fine Arts in game design at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her studies focus on female representation in games and games culture. In her free time Sam is an avid consumer of music, movies, and video games.

website: samowensdesign.wordpress.com

email: samlynnowens@gmail.com

After working in the games industry in Canada and Switzerland, Shad Miller is now a McDermott Fellow pursuing an ATCM Ph.D. with a concentration in Games Development and Narrative at the University of Texas at Dallas. His primary research interests involve play, improvisation, and games as communication.

website: shad-miller.squarespace.com

email: eric.miller@utdallas.edu

Stephen Mallory is a PhD Student who is studying within the fields of Game Development, Game Studies and Games & Learning. After spending over a decade working as a digital game designer and developer, Stephen wants to shake up how Game Studies views games and play from the perspective of education and learning.

email: stephen.mallory@utdallas.edu

Talia Henry received her Bachelor of Arts in Game Studies from UT Dallas in 2019. She is a freelance artist, feminist, and game designer. She co-created the Women in Games organization at UTD, and continues her activist efforts as well as create safe spaces for creators from all walks of life. An aspiring professor, Talia has interests in alternate reality games, consent in games, and fan studies. In her free time, she loves to watch horror films, knit, and visit abandoned and historic locations.

email: talia.henryart@gmail.com