Bob Rehak

Bob Rehak serves as Associate Professor and Department Chair of Film & Media Studies at Swarthmore College, with additional affiliation in Comparative Literature.

His academic background includes:

• B.A. in English from Eastern Michigan University (1992)
• M.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2000)
• Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Indiana University at Bloomington (2006)

Rehak's research explores the material and cultural dimensions of media production across historical and technological transitions. His work critically examines special effects, transmedia franchises, and the evolution of video games from analog to digital platforms. He investigates how fan communities preserve media history through practices like retrogame emulation and physical model building, while analyzing the tension between commercial preservation and grassroots archiving of gaming culture. His scholarship bridges film theory, media archaeology, and game studies with particular attention to animation's technological shifts and fandom's role in media evolution.

Recent publications reveal consistent focus on the interplay between technological infrastructure and cultural meaning-making. His analyses of Star Trek fandom, retrogame preservation, and animation history demonstrate how media artifacts function as historical reference points across generational divides. The work emphasizes how obsolete technologies gain renewed cultural significance through community practices that challenge linear narratives of technological progress.