This summer Andy Phelps and several co-authors published a chapter summarizing and extending several years worth of recent work in a new anthology: Phelps, A., Consalvo, M., and Boudreau, K. (2024) “Perspectives on Microstreaming: Labor, Interactivity and Authenticity” in Bowman, N. (Ed.), Emerging issues for emerging technologies: Informed provocations for theorizing media futures. Media & Communication. Peter Lang.
Phelps, Consalvo, Altizer, Koenitz, and Grace spoke at the Digital Games Research Association 2024 conference on a talk entitled “Games and Colonialism: Expanding Studies in Research, Design, and Reception” in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Andy also spoke at the Games 4 Change conference in New York, NY as part of his role as President of the Higher Education Video Game Alliance, including an on-stage presence at the G4C Awards.
Furthermore, Andy served as a competition judge and speaker at the Gotland Game Conference in Visby, Sweden as part of an international panel for the Uppsala University Department of Game Design.
Finally, Andy reviewed for g | a | m | e (games as art, media, entertainment) The Italian Journal of Game Studies, and is co-chairing the Games & Gaming minitrack to be held as part of the Hawai'i International Conference on Systems Sciences (HICSS) 2025 (the reviews and meta-reviews for which are currently ongoing).
Kurt Braddock published an article on the utility of deep learning neural networks for predicting extremist violence. The paper, called Using Deep Learning Neural Networks to Predict Violent Vs. Nonviolent Extremist Behaviors, is published in a flagship journal on political conflict called Terrorism and Political Violence. This is Kurt's first paper using the certification he received in data science from Cornell University last year.
Kurt also spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about possible violent repercussions in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt. Kurt noted that despite the fact that there is no evidence that the shooter was left-leaning or a Democrat, online channels point to animosity on the part of far-right fans of Trump, with some calling for civil war.
In addition, Kurt was selected to serve as a Center for Teaching, Research & Learning AU Core Faculty Fellow. The CTRL Faculty Fellows program is designed to advance CTRL’s mission of promoting and supporting excellence in teaching and scholarship at American University. In doing so, the program recognizes and leverages faculty expertise to lead in the sharing of knowledge, experience, and creativity.
Patricia Aufderheide provided a briefing to the Korean Lawyers' Association on July 22 on implementing fair use in Korean law.
Filippo Trevisan was interviewed by the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) about the selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Democratic vice-presidential nominee. In the interview, Filippo noted that Walz’s “background enables him to speak to a certain section of the electorate with credibility” and “reach out to voters they need in the rural parts of America.”
Jane Hall was interviewed in a lengthy segment on Bloomberg TV and radio live about sexism and racism in Donald Trump’s attacks on Kamala Harris. She was also interviewed by the Wall Street Journal about a possible debate between Harris and Trump.
Earlier this week, the SOC Office of Student and Academic Affairs’ team celebrated the end of summer with an afternoon painting inspirational rocks for our students. They will spread them around campus next week, so students feel inspired as they start a new academic year.
