Dr. Tom Boellstorff, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, has studied digital environments and human identity for decades. My interest in how identity is shaped by and through digital media and gaming naturally led me to Tom, whose work exists at the intersection of gender, race, technology, media, and material culture. I initially learned about him through his acclaimed research into virtual worlds like Second Life.
Tom's most recent book, Intellivision: How a Video Game System Battled Atari and Almost Bankrupted Barbie, explores the rise and fall of Intellivision and Mattel's foray into the gaming industry. It also examines Mattel’s marketing strategies as well as the blurring of work and play in the early video game industry of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Join Tom and me as we discuss the intersectionality of his research, his recent book on Intellivision, digital economies, the metaverse, and his upcoming project about climate change.
We hope you enjoy this conversation about the evolving role of technology in shaping human identity. Please share it if you find it engaging!
Click here for information about the documentary Virtual Cultures in Pandemic Times.
Click here for the documentary Our Digital Selves (about my research on disability in
virtual worlds).
Click here for the Indonesian translation of The Gay Archipelago.
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