Joseph Amodei

Joseph Amodei serves as Assistant Professor of Immersive Media at Chatham University's College of Arts & Sciences, specializing in virtual and augmented reality applications for social justice and civic engagement. Their innovative work bridges technology, activism, and artistic expression through projects addressing gerrymandering, vaccine accessibility, and attention economy critique.

Research focuses span immersive media design, gerrymandering visualization through interactive systems, and meditative technology applications. Their work explores how VR/AR can transform civic participation, using game theory frameworks to create spaces for social norm rehearsal. Current projects examine electoral justice, data poetry generation, and critical responses to attention-optimization culture.

Amodei's creative output includes the Fringe Arts Festival-premiered “Packing and Cracking” gerrymandering project and the “Looking for the Horizon” meditative installation. Their digital activism includes “Free the Vaccine” Zoom filters advocating for publicly-funded vaccine accessibility. The department provides students with Oculus Quest 3 headsets and gaming computers as standard equipment.

• Developed “Packing and Cracking” interactive gerrymandering experience
• Created “Looking for the Horizon” data-poetry meditation installation
• Lead digital activism for “Free the Vaccine” campaign
• Collaborated with The Center for Artistic Activism on pandemic research access

Amodei directs student projects in Chatham's state-of-the-art Immersive Media studio, featuring Sony, HP, Oculus, HTC, and Microsoft devices. Their “gather and round up” department sessions include VR collaboration, game jams, and technical workshops. Current work focuses on maintaining pressure for fair electoral maps through 2021 amid post-census redistricting.