EPIC Podcasts available

From the American Anthropological Association's blog:

The Brand Show recently posted three podcasts featuring anthropologists involved in the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference. Give them a listen:

• The Past, Present and Future of Ethnography in Business (feat. Martha Cotton)
• The Rise of Ethnographic Insight in Enterprise (feat. Ken Anderson)
• A New Perspective on Consumer Research May Give a Leg Up to Brands (feat. Gillian Tett)

New book out: Gaming Cultures and Place in Asia-Pacific

Just got my copy of a new book from Routledge, "Gaming Cultures and Place in Asia-Pacific" edited by Larissa Hjorth and Dean Chan. Dal Yong Jin and I wrote the first chapter in Part I titled, "The Politics of Online Gaming," where we explored the geo-political, economic, cultural and social dimensions of Korea's creative industries in the form of online gaming.

You will also find contributions from...
Sam Hinton, Peichi Chung, Benjamin Wai-Ming Ng, Jun-Sok Huhh, Melanie Swalwell, Dean Chan, David Surman, Christian McCrea, Theodor G. Wyeld / Brett Leavy / Patrick Crogan, Ingrid Richardson, Holin Lin / Chuen-Tsai Sun, Larissa Hjorth / Bora Na / Jun-Sok Huhh

Description of the book:
This collection explores the relationship between digital gaming and its cultural context by focusing on the burgeoning Asia-Pacific region. Encompassing key locations for global gaming production and consumption such as Japan, China, and South Korea, as well as increasingly significant sites including Australia and Singapore, the region provides a wealth of divergent examples of the role of gaming as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Drawing from micro ethnographic studies of specific games and gaming locales to macro political economy analyses of techno-nationalisms and trans-cultural flows, this collection provides an interdisciplinary model for thinking through the politics of gaming production, representation, and consumption in the region.

Anyone interested in the latest research on gaming culture, particularly in the Asia-Pacific should take a gander through these pages.

You can get your own hardcopy of the book from Routledge here>>
Or, you can get a Kindle edition from Amazon here>>
Or, the library, like SFU here>>

Genome BC Launches New Online Newsletter for Social Scientists and Humanists

Some often mused that while hyper-specialization leads to some very interesting discoveries, the divorcing of ethics, morality, or culture from the study of 'real science' is ultimately not for the greater good. William Leiss' work comes to mind.

All the more reason it's nice to see initiatives like this come to fruition.

New from Genome BC:
This is a resource for social science and humanities researchers interested in the societal issues associated with genomics science and technology, and features articles on BC researchers and projects of interest as well as providing details of funding ...opportunities, upcoming conferences and events, both nationally and internationally, and much more.
Each issue will relate to a different theme.

This (first!) issue is on the environment. Access the pdf here>>

CMS job opening for tenured faculty position

Via Henry Jenkins...

Note application deadline of November 1, 2009:

MIT's Program in Comparative Media Studies seeks applications for a tenured position beginning in September 2010. A PhD and an extensive record of publication, research activity and leadership are expected. We encourage applicants from a wide array of disciplinary backgrounds. The successful candidate will teach and guide research in one or more of the Program's dimensions of comparativity (historical, methodological, cultural) across media forms. Expertise in the cultural and social implications of established media forms (film, television, audio and visual cultures, print) is as important as scholarship in one or more emerging areas such as games, social media, new media literacies, participatory culture, software studies, IPTV, and transmedia storytelling.

The position involves teaching graduate and undergraduate courses, developing and guiding collaborative research activities, and participating in the intellectual and creative leadership of the Program and the Institute. Candidates should demonstrate a record of effective teaching and thesis supervision, significant research/creative activity, relevant administrative experience, and international recognition.

CMS offers SB and SM programs and maintains a full roster of research initiatives and outreach activities [see http://cms.mit.edu] The program embraces the notion of comparativity and collaboration and works across MIT's various schools and between MIT and the larger media landscape.

MIT is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

Applications consisting of a curriculum vita, a statement of teaching philosophy and experience, a statement of current and future research plans, selected major publications, and names of suggested references should be submitted by November 1, 2009 to:

Professor William Uricchio
Director, Comparative Media Studies
MIT 14N-207
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA

Postdoctoral fellowship opportunity at ANU

Here's a good opportunity to do some postdoctoral research in Canberra:
The Korea Institute, Australian National University College of Asia and the Pacific, is offering a two-year research fellowship focusing on any one of three possible fields of investigation: 1) the politics of Korea, with a focus on contemporary developments; 2) the economics of Korea including Korea’s global involvement in multilateral issues; or 3) the security of the Korean peninsula with an East Asia context.

The successful applicant will be eligible for a salary package of $53,935 to $68,413 pa, plus 17% superannuation. The closing date for applications is 1 October 2009.

For further details of the position and how apply, please refer to the following page: http://jobs.anu.edu.au/PositionDetail.aspx?p=823