Melissa Bianchi

Melissa Bianchi, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts at Nova Southeastern University's Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. She teaches graduate courses in the M.A. in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program, alongside undergraduate game studies and composition courses.

• Education: Ph.D. in English, University of Florida
• Research Focus: Rhetoric and composition, game studies, ecocriticism, ecomedia studies
• External Roles: Former Webmaster (2017-2018) and Writing Tutor (2014-2016) at University of Florida

Her scholarship bridges rhetoric and composition with ecocriticism, exploring how video games simulate environmental agency, ecological responsibility, and posthuman themes. Her recent publications include analyses of ecomedia, ecofeminism, and queer ecology in edited collections like Ecogames and journals such as Journal of Games Criticism and Ecozon@.

Key trends in her articles include ecomedia studies, posthuman theory, and environmental ethics in digital games. Her 2024 work examines climate crisis representation and nonhuman agency in gaming contexts.

• Scientific Awards:
  • College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship (2017)
  • Teaching Mentor Fellowship (2017)
  • Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Baskin Fellowship (2010)

Dr. Bianchi has served as editor for One Shot and Trace journals, participated in the Cultural Rhetorics Conference (2016), and conducted peer-review activities for ImageTexT and other journals. She has presented at national and international conferences on digital ecology and game studies.