That’s right: two new jobs! A fantastic sequence. First, I have started my postdoc at UC Berkeley. Then a year from now I will head to Washington D.C. to join the faculty at American University in 2015. Here’s more:
(1) Currently I am a postdoc scholar at UC Berkeley’s School of Information — often called the “I School.” My time is split between my own research on civic media, and teaching for Berkeley’s new MA in information and data science. My research continues to investigate real-world games and civic learning. My teaching at Berkeley will focus on a course on research design for big data, at the overlap of computer science and social science. One of my goals for this year is to reflect on how graduate pedagogy can best support hot new fields (e.g., where pushing past the hype requires balancing technical innovation with organizational learning and field-level strategy).
(2) Then in the summer of 2015 I will move to Washington D.C. to join the faculty of the School of Communication at American University (AU) as an assistant professor. For a civic scholar like me, D.C. is an extraordinary node in the conversation on civic innovation, and as bonus, AU has some of the most civically engaged students in the nation. A big factor in my decision to join AU is their new dean Jeff Rutenbeck, who has a rare understanding of games and has already launched a new MA in game design. The Center for Media and Impact was a big draw too. There are too many incredible faculty to list (!), and so I will post more as specific collaborations emerge.
(P.S. — Did I mention that dissertation was officially accepted and filed? I defended back in June at the USC Annenberg School, and in June all the formatting changes were finally accepted. Hurrah! My dissertation investigated how real-world games can empower neighborhood networks, including for collective action and sustainable development. More on specific research findings to come; for now, another round of thanks to my co-chairs François Bar and Henry Jenkins, as well as committee members Tracy Fullerton and Sandra Ball-Rokeach.)
