Chris Chesher

Dr. Chris Chesher is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures within the Discipline of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He co-founded both the Digital Cultures program and the Master of Digital Communication and Culture at the University. Previously, he served as a senior lecturer in the School of Media and Communications at the University of New South Wales. His academic career spans interdisciplinary research at the intersection of digital media, cultural studies, and technology.

Dr. Chesher's educational background includes:

• PhD from Macquarie University
• Master of Arts (Interdisciplinary Studies) from the University of New South Wales
• Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) from Mitchell CAE (now Charles Sturt University)

Dr. Chesher's research adopts a transdisciplinary approach connecting digital cultures, media studies, and cultural studies with philosophy of technology, science and technology studies, games studies, internet studies, sociology of technology, human-computer interaction, social robotics, cultural robotics, and digital humanities. His work challenges conventional understandings of human-machine relations and explores the cultural implications of emerging technologies through projects on robotics beyond anthropomorphism, invocational media theory, and smart urban environments.

His recent publications reveal a strong thematic focus on robotics, AI, and digital media theory, with particular attention to non-anthropomorphic approaches to social robotics, invocational media theory, and smart urban environments. The publications demonstrate his consistent engagement with how digital technologies reshape human experience, social relations, and spatial understanding across multiple domains including banking, restaurants, street furniture, and home environments, reflecting both theoretical depth and practical relevance.

Dr. Chesher has received recognition for his teaching excellence:

• 2023 - University of Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Teaching Innovation Award

As an academic supervisor, Dr. Chesher has guided multiple PhD candidates to completion across diverse topics including digital gambling, game items in digital environments, user regulation on Facebook, and climate change visualizations. His grant history demonstrates sustained research funding, including the Australia-Korea Partnership on Mobile Robot Development in Public Space (2019), Public Forum on Urban Robots and the Future City (2018), and Everyday Social Media Network (2014), highlighting his leadership in collaborative, interdisciplinary research initiatives.

Dr. Chesher is actively involved in collaborative research through the Sydney Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (SIRIS) at the University of Sydney, where he contributes to projects examining the cultural dimensions of robotics and AI beyond anthropomorphic frameworks, bridging technical innovation with critical cultural analysis.