My Summer in World of Warcraft

Over the summer, I received a grant from Denison to conduct anthropology research on World of Warcraft-- the popular multi-player online game. Yes, every teenage boy's dream job! Because WoW is a pop culture phenomenon, people seem intrigued.

I have made the full manuscript available HERE.
Note that isn't meant to sound harsh, but inevitably will: As I work towards possibly publishing the manuscript, I request it only be used or referenced with my consent.

The paper is about gender in World of Warcraft, and draws on my own experience and interviews with fellow players. It is quite lengthy and heavy on theory-- If you're short on time but still intrigued, I suggest skipping to either Chapter III (game design), Chapter IV (virtual gender), or Chapter V (actual gender and marginalization).

I am proud of my work and much indebted to my research advisor, Susan Diduk, for overseeing the project. Neither of us had any experience studying technology, gaming, or anything even vaguely related before the summer-- it was definately a shot in the dark!!

Birthday

Tomorrow is my 21st birthday! I am thrilled to have made it to the seemingly arbitrary age where I am allowed to purchase and consume alcohol. No more X's on my hands at concerts that require brutal exfoliation to remove. And perhaps more importantly, I am now eligible for all the radio contests that require you to be 21 to win. Turning 21 almost feels ironic. I've always been old; now I'm just catching up.

Like every year, this birthday I will spend an inordinate amount of time preparing my wish before blowing out the candles on my cake. I suspect many people wish for similar things: a hand to hold, satisfaction, strength in the upcoming year. In other words... important things. No one wishes for their neighbor to stop having loud parties, or for Oprah to unexpectedly decide to do 10 more seasons (although both of those would be amazing).

I can't tell you what my exact wish will be or it won't come true. But... it'll be important. And big. I can't waste any opportunities this year!

Blog Take 2 (american style)

I'm resurrecting the blog.

I know what you're thinking. Why? Your life is nowhere near interesting enough to blog anymore. You held my attention in Ecuador, with the bull fighting, sex-ed teaching, dangerous public transportation, mountain climbing adventures. I concede that my life is markedly more boring now. I live in Ohio, I spend many evenings indoors writing papers. I get excited to go to my favorite coffee shop or when my schedule allows reading for pleasure.

I am blogging again for several reasons. The first is jealous inspiration. Many of my friends have interesting, funny, or thought-provoking blogs, and I appreciate being kept up to date on their lives. The second is my senior year of college. I'm making some big plans (and small plans) and would like to keep a record of how everything materializes. The third is contact. My friends and family are increasingly dispersed across this great world, and nothing substitutes personal communication (even if it is en masse).

So however you know me (or don't), I hope you partake in the excitement and terror of my senior year of college. These are, perhaps, my final carefree days of university life, in this utopia of Denison, planning and seeking and eventually finding what comes next.