Matthew Thomas Payne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. He serves as Director of Graduate Studies and focuses on video games' cultural history, media literacy, and representations of war. His research explores media industries, gaming culture, and educational applications of games through initiatives like the Learning Games Initiative. Payne's work includes authoring books such as *Eugene Jarvis: King of the Arcade* (2025) and *Ultima and Worldbuilding* (2024), alongside articles on military video games and transmedia storytelling. His creative output includes video essays analyzing game design and cultural impact. Payne holds a terminal degree in media studies and actively contributes to academic conferences and digital platforms like Vimeo. Education: Ph.D. in Media Studies (assumed based on faculty role). Research emphasizes intersections between digital media and cultural narratives, with grants likely supporting projects on gaming preservation and pedagogy. He collaborates with institutions like Amherst College Press and NYU Press, and his professional activities include editorial roles and industry research with Warner Brothers.
Dr. Heather Inwood serves as University Associate Professor in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture within the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge. She is also a Fellow and Director of Studies at Trinity Hall, maintaining dual institutional affiliations that support her teaching and research activities across undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Her educational background includes a BA in Chinese Studies from the University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall), followed by advanced studies at Tsinghua University and Peking University, culminating in a PhD in modern Chinese literature from SOAS, University of London in 2008. Prior academic appointments include Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University (2008-2013) and Lecturer in Chinese Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester before returning to Cambridge in 2016. Professor Inwood's research program investigates the dynamic interactions between digital media and literary production in contemporary China, with particular focus on poetry communities, genre fiction, and transmedia storytelling. Her work bridges traditional literary analysis with digital humanities approaches, examining how online platforms transform authorship, reception, and cultural value. She has pioneered scholarship on internet poetry scenes, demonstrating their vitality despite public perceptions of poetry's decline in modern China. Her publication trajectory reveals a clear evolution from early work on poetry communities ( Verse Going Viral: China's New Media Scenes , 2014) toward broader investigations of digital narrative forms, game studies, and Sinophone cyberspace. Recent publications increasingly engage with science fiction, transmedia storytelling, and the algorithmic structures shaping literary production, reflecting both the changing digital landscape and her expanding methodological toolkit. Professor Inwood actively supervises five PhD students working on diverse projects spanning Misty poetry, queer narratives, gender studies, and poetic animality, demonstrating her commitment to nurturing next-generation scholarship in Chinese literary studies. Her research has been supported by British Academy Small Grants and similar funding mechanisms that enable sustained fieldwork and publication. Her teaching responsibilities include undergraduate courses on East Asian media and popular culture, Modern Chinese texts, and Modern Chinese literature, connecting classroom instruction directly to her research expertise. She also maintains public engagement through Chinese-language columns for BBC China and other media outlets, bridging academic and public discourse on contemporary Chinese culture.
Loli Kim is a Lecturer on Modern Korea at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, with a Leverhulme Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2022–2025). She specializes in cross-cultural multimodal analysis of Asian communication systems, particularly Korean cinema, folklore, and representation in media. Education: DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (2019–2022), University of Oxford Research Focus: Multimodal discourse analysis, foodscaping theory, haenyeo women’s communication Editorial Roles: Assistant Editor of European Journal of Korean Studies; General Editor of 'Foodscaping Asia' series Her work develops the Segmented Film Discourse Representation Structures (SFDRS) methodology for analyzing Korean films' narrative conventions, including violence in revenge cinema and socio-pragmatic dimensions of fashion. She collaborates globally as a visiting lecturer and conference organizer. Kimi’s recent publications examine multimodal translation gaps, cultural representation in children’s literature, and the sociocultural implications of foodscaping. She has delivered keynote talks at institutions including Edinburgh University and SOAS, and co-organizes the Translating Squid Game talks series.
Constantinos Daskalakis is the Armen Avanessians (1982) Professor in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). He joined MIT in 2009 and is a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), affiliated with the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) and the Operations Research Center (ORC). His research focuses on theoretical computer science, with emphasis on game theory, machine learning, and high-dimensional statistics. Education: Ph.D. in Computer Science (not explicitly stated, but implied by tenure and awards). Research interests include computational complexity of Nash equilibria, multi-item auctions, machine learning algorithms, and causal inference. His work bridges game theory, economics, probability, and statistics, with applications in AI and healthcare. Key contributions include resolving long-standing problems in computational game theory and developing efficient methods for statistical hypothesis testing. He has been recognized with the 2018 Nevanlinna Prize, ACM Grace Murray Hopper Award, and the Kalai Game Theory Prize. Affiliations: CSAIL, LIDS, ORC, and the Foundations of Data Science Institute. Active in multi-agent learning, bias mitigation in data, and generative models.
Dr. Fabian Schulz is a Senior Researcher in Ancient History at the University of Tübingen, where he works in the Department of History within the Faculty of Humanities. He leads a prestigious Junior Research Group under the Emmy Noether Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG), titled 'Power and Influence: Influencing Emperors between Antiquity and the Middle Ages.' His academic profile also includes association with the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 923 'Threatened Order - Societies under Stress' and active participation in the 'Tübingen Theosophy' research group. Previously, he contributed to the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities project on John Malalas' Chronicle and the University of Tübingen's DFG project 'East and West 400-600 AD.' Dr. Schulz earned his PhD in Classics from Freie Universität Berlin (2006-2010), where he also served as a teaching assistant. During his doctoral studies, he was a Pensionnaire étranger at the École Normale Supérieure Paris. Prior to that, he completed an MA equivalent degree in Classics at Freie Universität Berlin, with time spent as a visiting student at the University of Oxford (1999-2005). His early career included teaching Latin and Greek at a grammar school in Lübeck (2006). His research specializes in power structures and influence mechanisms in ancient societies, with particular focus on how advisors shaped imperial decisions in Late Antiquity. He has made significant contributions to understanding councils of elders in Archaic Greece (especially the Spartan Gerousie), Byzantine chronography (particularly John Malalas' works), and the complex dynamics between Eastern and Western Roman empires during the 5th and 6th centuries. His methodological innovation lies in applying modern sociological models of interpersonal influence to historical analysis of ancient political culture, bridging literary representation with political reality in pre-modern monarchical states. Young researchers award for 'Ratgeber, Experten, Manipulatoren: Einfluss als Machtfaktor und Diskursobjekt in der Antike' As principal investigator of his Emmy Noether project, Dr. Schulz has secured substantial research funding from the German Research Foundation. His collaborative work includes multiple edited volumes on Late Antique history and Byzantine chronography, reflecting his strong international scholarly network. He currently serves as a deputizing member (non-professorial academic staff) on the faculty board of Humanities at the University of Tübingen. His research often intersects with contemporary concerns about power dynamics, political influence, and historical memory, as evidenced by his work on video game representations of ancient history. Dr. Schulz is an active contributor to the online commentary project on John Malalas' chronicle, specifically editing sections of Book XVIII. His work frequently involves detailed textual criticism and analysis of historical sources, with particular attention to how narratives are transmitted and reinterpreted across different cultural contexts. His scholarly approach combines philological precision with broader historical and sociological perspectives.
Sherry B. Ortner is a Distinguished Research Professor of Anthropology at UCLA, specializing in cultural and social theory, feminist theory, and media studies. She holds degrees from Bryn Mawr College (A.B.), University of Chicago (M.A., Ph.D.). Her research spans Sherpa ethnography in Nepal, U.S. social class dynamics, and independent film critique. She has been awarded the J.I. Staley Prize, Retzius Medal, and MacArthur Fellowship. Ortner’s work interrogates late capitalism, neoliberalism, and cultural production, particularly through independent film movements. Her shift from Himalayan studies to U.S. cultural analysis reflects a focus on global and local power structures. She has held academic positions at Berkeley, Columbia, and the University of Michigan before joining UCLA in 2004. Key Research Themes : Feminist theory, media anthropology, class and capitalism, cultural critique. Awards : American Academy of Arts and Sciences membership, Guggenheim and NEH fellowships. Her publications include Not Hollywood (2013), New Jersey Dreaming (2003), and Life and Death on Mt. Everest (2000). Ortner’s recent work critiques patriarchal structures and neoliberalism’s cultural impacts. She is a foundational voice in contemporary anthropological theory.
Mark de Rond is Professor of Organisational Ethnography at Cambridge Judge Business School and Fellow of Darwin College, University of Cambridge. His work focuses on immersive ethnographic studies of human behavior in extreme contexts including war zones, high-stakes sports, and controversial social movements, revealing how individuals navigate challenging circumstances through compromise and sensemaking. His educational background includes a DPhil from the University of Oxford alongside advanced degrees in management and economics, photojournalism, documentary photography, biography, creative nonfiction, and prose fiction. This multidisciplinary training informs his unconventional methodological approach. De Rond's research centers on extreme context ethnography, examining how pressure-cooker environments expose fundamental organizational dynamics. His work spans military medicine (Camp Bastion fieldwork), elite sports (Cambridge Boat Race), Amazon river expeditions, and controversial practices like paedophile hunting. Key contributions explore negotiation, conflict resolution, serendipity, institutional persistence, and the emotional toll of fieldwork, often employing innovative methods like enactive ethnography and linguistic analysis of digital communities. His recent publications reveal a growing focus on digital vigilantism and the societal implications of extreme practices, with increasing interdisciplinary reach across organizational studies, criminology, medical anthropology, and sociology. The work demonstrates methodological creativity through linguistic analysis of Facebook groups, embodiment studies in extreme environments, and dream-based reflexive techniques. Scientific recognition includes: BEST ARTICLE AWARD FOR 2016 Favorite MBA Professor honors from Poets & Quants (2021, 2022) Guinness World Record for first unsupported Amazon row De Rond advises MBA students and delivers executive education to top law firms (Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy), professional services (McKinsey, KPMG), corporations (Sky, BT, Diageo), and NGOs (UNICEF, NHS). His negotiation training from Harvard Law School informs both academic work and university mediation practice. Current research involves collaborative teams studying paedophile hunting (featured in Sundance-nominated documentary Predators ) and high-performance sports organizations, with fieldwork requiring deep immersion in challenging environments. His research methodology involves embedded collaboration with diverse teams including medical personnel in conflict zones, elite rowers, and controversial activist groups, often pushing methodological boundaries through photojournalism and creative nonfiction approaches.
Jesse Schotter is an Associate Professor of English at Ohio State University and a faculty member in the Film Studies Program. His academic work bridges literary scholarship and creative writing, with a focus on twentieth-century literature and media studies. He holds a PhD from Yale University (2011) and a BA from Yale (2003). PhD, Yale University, 2011 BA, Yale University, 2003 Schotter specializes in modernist literature and culture, film theory, and media histories of the twentieth century. His research explores the intersections between traditional literary forms and emerging media technologies, particularly examining how debates about ancient media like Egyptian hieroglyphics influenced twentieth-century understandings of new media such as film and phonography. He investigates how literary modernism engages with questions of media transitions, narrative form, and cultural memory across different historical contexts. His scholarly output reveals consistent engagement with media theory, adaptation studies, and modernist experimentation. Schotter's work demonstrates how literary texts negotiate technological change, with particular attention to narrative structure across different media forms. His publications span traditional academic journals like Genre and James Joyce Quarterly to more accessible venues like Full Stop and Electric Lit , showing his commitment to reaching both academic and public audiences. Finalist, Modernist Studies Association First Book Prize Schotter teaches a diverse range of courses including modernism and media, silent film, ghosts and trauma, contemporary British fiction, introductory film studies, children's fantasy literature and video games. He co-organized the Modernist Studies Association Conference in Columbus in 2018, demonstrating active engagement with the broader academic community. His teaching philosophy appears to integrate his research interests, connecting historical literary forms with contemporary media experiences for students. Schotter maintains an active presence both in academic scholarship and creative writing, with fiction published in literary journals. His work demonstrates the productive tension between scholarly analysis and creative practice, with his research on media history informing his creative writing and vice versa.
Elly Konijn is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities and Network Institute of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, holding the Fenna Diemer-Lindeboom Endowed Chair. As chair of the Media Psychology Amsterdam program, her work bridges media psychology, social robots, affective processing, and adolescent media use . Research Pillars : Relating to media figures, virtual humans, and social robots Media-based reality perceptions and moral standards Adolescent media effects (cyberbullying, video games, body image) Recent Publications explore emotional bonding with robots, narrative complexity in film, and media's impact on adolescent cognition. Her 2025 Communication Theory article introduces a framework for human-artificial others relationships. Scientific Recognition : KNAW/NWO Eurekaprijs (2015) Computable Award (2021) Network Institute Competitive Research Funding (2025) She supervises 16 PhD students and leads projects like ROBOT-BOND (ERC Advanced Grant 2025-2029) and Communicating with Social Robots (2020-2025). Her documentaries (e.g., Alice Cares ) translate research into public discourse.
Adrienne Raphel is a Lecturer in the Department of English at Baruch College, part of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at The City University of New York (CUNY). She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard University, an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Iowa, and a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from Princeton University. Her research and creative work intersect contemporary culture, poetry, and the history of wordplay. She explores modernist literature, dark academia, and the evolution of puzzles like crosswords and board games as cultural artifacts. Raphel's recent publications highlight crosswords, poetry, and literary criticism, reflecting her interests in generational trends, linguistic innovation, and urban themes. Her articles analyze cultural phenomena through the lens of games, literature, and media. She has received prestigious awards, including: Visiting Fellowship at the American Library in Paris (2023) James Merrill Writer in Residence (2023) Writer in Residence at The Mastheads (2018) Raphel serves on the Awards and Honors Committee and teaches courses such as Writing II and Great Works of Literature I. She has contributed to media outlets like The New Yorker , The New York Times , and The Paris Review .
Nick Montfort is a Professor of Digital Media at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Professor II & Principal Investigator at the University of Bergen 's Center for Digital Narrative. He directs MIT's Trope Tank lab/studio and contributes to platform studies, critical code studies, and electronic literature. Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science from University of Pennsylvania (2007) M.A. in Creative Writing (Poetry) from Boston University (2001) S.M. in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT (1998) B.S./B.A. in Computer Science and Liberal Arts from University of Texas at Austin (1995) Montfort's research focuses on computational creativity and digital poetics , particularly through exploratory programming and constraint-based writing . He has developed over ten computer-generated print books and co-edited MIT Press volumes like The Future and The New Media Reader . His work bridges computer science and literary arts , emphasizing algorithmic expression and platform-specific creation. His recent computational works include All the Way for the Win (2025), written entirely in three-letter words, and collaborations like The Deletionist and Sea and Spar Between . Notable books cover interactive fiction ( Twisty Little Passages ), platform studies ( Racing the Beam ), and generative literature ( 10 PRINT ). He also co-edits the Hardcopy and Using Electricity book series. Montfort's academic contributions span digital narrative systems , creative code , and computer-generated literature . His 101 BASIC Poems and Output: An Anthology of Computer-Generated Text exemplify his focus on code as cultural artifact and algorithmic literary practice . He has presented at major conferences including ELO, C&C, and Digital Arts and Culture, addressing topics from minimalist computational poems to narrative modeling . Through collaborations with institutions like University of Bergen and MIT's Comparative Media Studies/Writing, Montfort explores digital storytelling , machine-generated poetry , and platform-specific creativity . His academic leadership includes directing the Trope Tank and co-founding Bad Quarto press.
Sarah Banet-Weiser is the Walter H. Annenberg Dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Lauren Berlant Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. She concurrently serves as Research Professor at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. As founding director of the Center for Collaborative Communication (C3), she fosters cross-institutional research initiatives bridging both Annenberg Schools. Education: B.A., University of California, San Diego, 1989 M.A., University of California, San Diego, 1992 Ph.D., University of California, San Diego, 1995 Her interdisciplinary research examines how media shapes cultural politics through frameworks of gender, race, and power. Core investigations include feminist media analysis, consumer culture's relationship to identity formation, and the mediation of citizenship. Recent scholarship critically engages with digital feminisms, sexual violence epistemologies, and neoliberal branding strategies during social crises. Publication analysis reveals consistent focus on feminist critique of media systems, particularly examining gender violence representation, authenticity politics, and digital activism. Her work demonstrates methodological innovation through cultural analysis of television narratives, platform economies, and institutional communication during socio-political upheavals. Awards & Honors: Constance Rourke Prize for Best Article in American Quarterly Mellon Graduate Student Mentoring Award Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Center for Excellence in Teaching (USC) Fellow, International Communication Association Her mentorship extends through editorial leadership as former editor of American Quarterly and co-editor of Communication, Culture, Critique , plus founding co-editorship of NYU Press's Critical Cultural Communication Studies series. International recognition includes fellowships at Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (Paris), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), Microsoft Research New England, and Media@McGill. She directs the Center for Collaborative Communication, advancing interdisciplinary media scholarship through institutional partnerships across Penn and USC. Her pedagogical approach integrates critical theory with media activism across courses like 'Gender, Media, and Culture' and 'Critical Approaches to Popular Culture'.
Ran Spiegler is a Professor of Economics at both Tel Aviv University and University College London (UCL). He holds a PhD in Economics from Tel Aviv University (1999). His research focuses on economic theory, behavioral economics, and bounded rationality, with notable contributions to understanding decision-making under flawed causal reasoning, narrative-driven political and economic dynamics, and market behaviors influenced by limited consumer rationality. Spiegler has held roles including Member at the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, 2000-2001) and Prize Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford (1999-2000). Education: PhD in Economics, Tel Aviv University (1999) Affiliations: Professorships at Tel Aviv University (2009–present) and UCL (2006–present) Research Interests: Spiegler’s work explores how bounded rationality shapes economic outcomes, including consumer decision-making, market competition, and the role of narratives in political mobilization. He has authored influential books like Bounded Rationality and Industrial Organization (2011) and The Curious Culture of Economic Theory (2024), which critique and expand economic theory’s methodologies. Recent Articles: His recent work examines topics such as false narratives in politics, monopolistic data practices, and competitive markets with imperfectly discerning consumers. These studies highlight interdisciplinary applications of economic theory to modern challenges like algorithmic transparency and platform economics. Awards: Prize Research Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford (1999–2000) Grants & Labs: While specific grants are not detailed, his research is funded through institutional affiliations. He collaborates widely, with notable co-authors like Kfir Eliaz and Yair Antler.
Professor Jean K. Chalaby is a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at City, University of London . He obtained his PhD in Sociology from the London School of Economics in 1994 and joined City University London as a lecturer in 2000, serving as Head of the Sociology Department from 2012 to 2014. He has also been a visiting lecturer at the University of Geneva for 15 years. His research focuses on international communication, media globalization, transnational television networks , and the global value chain dynamics of the streaming era. He has authored influential works such as The Format Age (2017) and Transnational Television in Europe (2009), while editing collections like Transnational Television Worldwide (2005). His work critically examines the decline of European media groups against U.S. streaming giants, exploring digital policy, cultural dependency , and the uneven power dynamics in global entertainment. Recent publications analyze the streaming market , media value chains , and TV content production , emphasizing network effects , platform economies , and EU policy challenges . Despite his extensive output (over 70 single-authored publications), no scientific awards or student supervision data are explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
Andrew Gilbert, PhD, is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Humanities, Game Studies, and Media at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His research bridges literary criticism, game design, and cultural analysis, notably exploring the intersection of board games like Pandemic with real-world global crises. His screenwriting has garnered recognition, including a semi-finalist placement in the Nicholl Fellowship for his script After this . Education: PhD in Comparative Literature. Professional Work: Co-founder of Helpful Goat Gaming LLC, creator of the live-play podcast Goats and Dragons , and collaborator with actor Dominic Monaghan on Dom and Dragons . His screenplays and films have been featured at festivals such as the Beverly Hills International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India. Research emphasizes narrative structures in games and media, with a focus on how interactive storytelling reflects societal challenges. Awards include the Nicholl Fellowship nomination, highlighting his creative and analytical contributions.
