Ph.D. - English
University of California, Davis - 2016
Josef Nguyen
Associate Professor of Critical Media Studies
My work draws on media studies, science and technology studies, and feminist and queer theory in order to investigate the contested meanings of technological labor and design in digital culture.
Professional Preparation
M.S. - Information and Computer Science, with a concentration in Arts Computation Engineering
University of California, Irvine - 2009
University of California, Irvine - 2009
B.A. - English
University of the Pacific - 2007
University of the Pacific - 2007
B.S. - Computer Science
University of the Pacific - 2007
University of the Pacific - 2007
Research Areas
Hi! My name is Josef Nguyen (he/him/his), and I am an associate professor of critical media studies at The University of Texas at Dallas. I received my Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Davis (2016) and my M.S. in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine (2009). My work engages media studies, science and technology studies, and feminist and queer theory in order to investigate the contested meanings of technological labor and design in digital culture, with particular attention to:- creative labor and the creative economy
- digital technologies and the politics of consent
- feminist and queer gaming
- experimental game design
- fan media and fandom practices
- DIY, craft, and maker cultures
Publications
“Scripting Consenting Fictions in Sex Technology Imaginaries.” Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience 9, no. 1 (Spring 2023) - Peer-reviewed Journal Article
"Reconsidering Lost Opportunities for Diverse Representation." Special Issue on "American Game Studies." Guest eds. Patrick Jagoda and Jennifer Malkowski. American Literature 94, no. 1 (Mar 2022): 73-102 - Peer-reviewed Journal Article
The Digital Is Kid Stuff: Making Creative Laborers for a Precarious Economy (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, Dec 2021) - Peer-reviewed Book
“Painful Games, Sporting Practices, and Enduring Masculinities.” JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies 60, no. 5 (2020-2021): 197-216 - Peer-reviewed Journal Article
“Challenges of Designing Consent: Consent Mechanics in Video Games as Models for Interactive User Agency,” with Bonnie Ruberg. CHI ‘20: Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Peer-reviewed Conference Paper
“How Makers and Preppers Converge in Premodern and Post-Apocalyptic Ruin.” Lateral 7.2 (2018) - Peer-reviewed Journal Article
“Digital Games about the Materiality of Digital Games.” Special issue on “Green Computer and Video Games.” Guest eds. John Parham and Alenda Y. Chang. Ecozon@ 8.2 (Nov 2017), 18–38 - Peer-reviewed Journal Article
“Minecraft and the Building Blocks of Creative Individuality.” Configurations 24.4 (Fall 2016), 471–500 - Peer-reviewed Journal Article