Fernanda Duarte

Fernanda Duarte is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at North Carolina State University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric and Digital Media from NC State University (2016), an MPhil in Communication and Contemporary Sociability from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2007), and a B.A. in Advertising from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (2003).

Her research focuses on sociotechnical issues of emerging technologies, critical making, and media arts activism. Key areas include digital media's role in mobility studies, platform capitalism, and embodied interaction with technology. She has held academic positions in Brazil at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (2017–2020), State University of Minas Gerais (2016–2017), and Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (2007–2010), alongside serving as Superintendent for Public Policy in Higher Education for the Minas Gerais state government.

Teaching interests span theoretical and practice-based courses in New Media Theory, Critical Making, and Design for Interactive Media. She leads initiatives such as the Intermedia Connection Lab (LabCon), integrating research and pedagogy around emerging media practices. Her work bridges media studies, cultural theory, and hands-on creative practices, emphasizing subversive uses of technology through workshops and collaborative projects.

Recent scholarly contributions explore hybrid spaces in the IoT era, algorithmic labor dynamics, and mobile journalism's role in social movements. She actively participates in international conferences like the Mobile Utopia symposium and co-organized the 2nd International Seminar on Communication and Visual Cultures. Her creative work includes installations blending art, technology, and activism to challenge conventional technological narratives.