Assistant Professor of Game Studies
Job
The University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor with a research and teaching emphasis in the area of Game Studies. We seek to hire colleagues who will conduct research on and teach about games (both analog and digital), game communities and affiliated technologies and platforms (e.g., Discord, Twitch, Esports, Virtual Reality) through the lenses of media studies, strategic communication, design, marketing, or their impacts and effects on users and culture. As one of the largest media and entertainment industries, games sit at the intersection of a variety of interactive and immersive interactive communication technologies, ranging from artificial intelligence to live streaming, that require rethinking the professional and social boundaries of media practitioners and consumers. At the same time, the ideological, economic and social norms fostered by gamers and game studios profoundly impact how everyday players and media users approach life, their sense of self, and create and maintain their own communities. From content creators, influencers and political pundits using streaming services like Twitch to the ways Artificial Intelligence is being deployed and adopted any number of professions, the impact of games and gaming is undeniable to the future of media. Hires would bring the following key contributions to our faculty: 1. Expertise in theories and concepts pertinent to game studies in regard to fields of media studies, communication, design, marketing, human-computer interaction, journalism, or affiliated fields. 2. A related specialty, such as the study of esports, fan studies, digital asset and game production, content creation, gaming identity, digital cultures, emerging media industries and economics, environmental studies, human-machine communication, strategic communication, and media psychology. 3. A capacity to teach required coursework in our new Game Studies minor at the SOJC such as media ethics, gender, media and diversity, and introduction to media studies, and potentially contribute to our online Immersive Media Communication Master’s program. This hire will join our growing body of scholars studying and teaching game studies and Immersive Media, including the new Game Studies minor launched in Fall 2024, which focuses on training media professionals in the culture and communication of games. Faculty members would also ideally strengthen SOJC’s ties to other units on campus, such as existing collaborations with the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) (e.g., the annual Data|Media|Digital Graduate Symposium), the campus-wide New Media and Culture Certificate program for graduate students, the ethics minor in philosophy, and UO’s Data Sciences Initiative. They could also work with the variety of extracurricular activities and programs associated with gaming on campus, including the varsity esports team, board game club, and the Art & Technology program in the School of Design. Games also are a significant component in the SOJC’s Immersive Media Communications program in collaboration with the Oregon Reality (OR) Lab, which focuses on experiential learning and research regarding the ethical use of immersive media and their social, cultural and professional impacts. Finally, ideal candidates will have strong potential to mentor undergraduate and graduate students as well as strong potential for and commitment to contributing to a culture of inclusive teaching and evidence of valuing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Equally important, candidates would be encouraged to take advantage of the university's existing partnerships to bring the industry and storytellers both in Portland’s “Silicon Forest” and Oregon’s thriving gaming community into the classroom while driving thought leadership as gaming and immersive technologies evolve. Positions will be based in Eugene on UO’s main campus.
Initiator(s):
University of Oregon
Deadline: 28.02.2025
Location: Eugene, United States of America
https://careers.uoregon.edu/en-us/job/534875/assistant-professor-of-game-studies
Post created by: Lymor Wolf Goldstein