Christopher B. Patterson

Christopher B. Patterson is an Associate Professor and Graduate Chair in the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia (UBC), within the Faculty of Arts. His research bridges transpacific discourses, queer theory, and creative writing, focusing on literature, video games, and film through empire studies. He is the author of seminal works such as Transitive Cultures: Anglophone Literature of the Transpacific (2018) and Open World Empire: Race and the Erotics of Video Games (2020), both award-winning. His creative works under the name Kawika Guillermo include novels like Stamped: an anti-travel novel and All Flowers Bloom, which have garnered major literary awards.

Patterson holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington (2013). Prior to UBC, he held roles as Assistant Professor at New York Institute of Technology in Nanjing, postdoctoral scholar at Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University. He has been recognized for his teaching, including the Hong Kong Baptist University’s Arts Faculty Early Career Teaching Award (2018).

His current projects include editing Transpacific, Undisciplined (2024) and Made in Asia/America: Why Video Games Were Never (Really) About Us (2024). He co-founded the New Books in Asian American Studies podcast and serves as Managing Editor for decomp journal. His research on Southeast Asian domestic workers and migrant narratives continues under the project Domesticating Brown.

Patterson’s accolades include the AAAS Book Award, John Hope Franklin Prize finalist status, and multiple creative writing honors. His interdisciplinary work spans literature, gaming, and social justice, with a focus on queer, brown, and transnational themes.