Benjamin Woo

Curriculum Vit
1. Personal Information WOO Chun How, Benjamin Michael E-mail URL Citizenship First Language bmw3@sfu.ca www.benjaminwoo.net Canadian English

2. Research Interests Areas sociology of culture, media, and communications; subculture, lifestyle, leisure; audiences and reception; consumption and consumerism; comics and graphic novels, fans, childrens media culture; cultural policy British cultural studies; practice theory (Bourdieu, Giddens, MacIntyre); social and political philosophy qualitative methods, interviews, participant observation; textual analysis

Approaches Methods 3. Education Degrees PhD

Communication, Simon Fraser University In progress (ABD) Nerds!: Cultural Practices and Community-making in a Subcultural Scene Supervisors: Dr. Gary McCarron, Dr. Richard S. Gruneau, Dr. Shane Gunster

MA

Communication, Simon Fraser University 20042006 Thesis: Red and White Tights: Representations of National Identity in Canadian Comic Books Sociology & Film Studies, Queens University 20002004 Graduated with distinction

BA(Hons.)

Research Awards and Fellowships 20092011 20042005 B. Woo vita SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship (Masters) 1

Scholarships, Prizes, and Grants 2011 2009 2009 2007 2005 Graduate Student Society Professional Development Grant Presidents Research Stipend Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology Award Graduate Fellowship (PhD) Graduate Fellowship (Masters)

4. Publications and Scholarly Contributions * Journal Articles . The Androids Dungeon: Comic-bookstores, Cultural Spaces, and the Social Practices of Audiences. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 2, no. 2. (2011), 12 pp. . Subculture Theory and the Fetishism of Style. Stream: Culture/Politics/Technology 2, no. 1 (2009): 2332. . An Age-Old Problem: Problematics of Comic Book Historiography. International Journal of Comic Art 10, no. 1 (2008): 26879. Book Chapters . Reconsidering Comics Journalism: Information and Experience in Joe Saccos Palestine. In The Rise and Reason of Comics and Graphic Literature: Critical Essays on the Form, edited by Joyce Goggin and Dan Hassler-Forest, 16677. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010. Kline, Stephen, and Benjamin Woo. Toxic Gaming?: On the Problems of Regulating Play. In Communication in Question: Competing Perspectives on Controversial Issues in Communication Studies, edited by Josh Greenberg and Charlene D. Elliott, 97104. Toronto: Thomson Nelson, 2008. Reviews . Review of the exhibition Krazy! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games + Art, curated by Bruce Grenville et al., Vancouver Art Gallery. International Journal of Comic Art 10, no. 2 (2008): 82123. Selected Conference Presentations . Virtues, Vices, and Media-oriented Practices: Towards a Normative Framework for Cultural Policy. Paper presented at Moral Economies and Creative Labour, an MIRC (Leeds) and CRESC (Manchester & Open University) conference, Leeds, UK, July 78, 2011.

*All sole-authored contributions listed as .

B. Woo vita

. The Androids Dungeon: Comic-Book Stores as Social Settings. Paper presented at the Joint International Conference of Graphic Novels, Bandes dessines and Comics, Manchester, UK, July 56, 2011. . Whose Policy? Which Culture?: Putting Audiences and Consumers into Cultural Policy Studies. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Communication Association, Montreal, Quebec, June 13, 2010. . White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Nerdcore and the Performance of Subcultural Identity. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Communication Association, Vancouver, British Columbia, June 46,2008. . The Clash of Civility and the Right to Communicate: The Jyllands-Posten Mohammed Cartoons. Paper presented at Enclosure, Emancipatory Communication and the Global City, an international conference of the Union for Democratic Communication, Vancouver, British Columbia, October 2527, 2007. . An Age-Old Problem: Problematics of Comic-Book Historiography. Paper presented at the International Comic Arts Forum, Washington, DC, October 1820, 2007. . Guttered Stories: The Documentary Comics of Joe Sacco. Paper presented at Visible Evidence XII, Montreal, Quebec, August 2125, 2005. Accepted for Publication . Alpha Nerds: Cultural Intermediaries in a Subcultural Scene. European Journal of Cultural Studies, ms. 24 pp.

5. Academic Appointments
2011, 200408 2009 2005 Teaching Assistant, School of Communication, SFU Sessional Instructor, School of Communication, SFU Research Assistant, Zo Druick Archival research for Dr. Druicks study of news parody and satire in Canadian television. Research Assistant, Blaine Allan Transcribed interviews for Dr. Allans research on the Canadian film director, Phillip Borsos. Teaching Assistant, Dept. of Film Studies, Queens University

2004

2003/04

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6. Teaching Activities
Courses Taught CMNS 223W Advertising as Social Communication Spring 2009 (97 enrolled) | Summer 2009 (83 enrolled)

Teaching Assistantships SFU School of Communication (20042008, 2011) CMNS 130W Explorations in Mass Communication CMNS 223W Advertising as Social Communication CMNS 230 The Cultural Industries in Canada: Global Context CMNS 262 Design and Method in Qualitative Communication Research CMNS 320 Children, Media, Culture CMNS 323 Cultural Dimensions in Advertising CMNS 387 Special Topics: Media and Education Department of Film Studies (2003/04) FILM 110 Film, Culture, and Communication

Queens Guest Lectures

Popular Art Worlds?: Comic Books and the Nerd-culture Scene. CMNS 488 Special Topics: Art Worlds (Jan Marontate, instructor), School of Communication, SFU, October 26, 2011. Developing a Qualitative Field Study: Or, How I Learned to Stop Being a Hater and Love Research Methods. SOCY 210 Social Research Methods (Rebecca J. Scott, instructor), Dept. of Sociology, Queens University, October 26, 2010. A Risk Factors Approach to Media Effects. CMNS 130W Explorations in Mass Communication (Ian Chunn, instructor), School of Communication, SFU, January 29, 2009. The Kids are All Right?: Children and Promotional Culture. CMNS 323W Cultural Dimensions in Advertising (Shane Gunster, instructor), School of Communication, SFU, 27 February 2006 and 26 June 2007. Professional Development Workshop, Effectively Communicating Assignment Tasks, SFU Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, 2010 Private voice lessons with SFU Learning and Instructional Development Centre vocal coach to improve delivery of lectures, 2009 Orientation workshop for teaching assistants of writing-intensive courses, SFU Centre for Writing-Intensive Learning, 2004

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Program for University Teaching and Learning, Certicate II: Teaching and Learning: Practical Experience, Instructional Development Centre, Queens University, 2004

7. Administrative Service
2011 Convener, Dissertation Support Group I organized a regular meeting of students completing their dissertations in the School of Communication for workshopping drafts and providing collegial support. PhD representative, Communication Graduate Caucus In addition to serving as a representative on various committees, during two terms as Caucus PhD representative, I collaborated on a series of consultations on the graduate curriculum and co-authored a working paper arguing for a curriculum review process. I resumed the position on an interim basis for one term in 2011. Peer reviewer, International Communication Association conference, Popular Communication section Co-organizer, Making Social Science Matter reading group With a colleague, I coordinated meetings to discuss Bent Flyvbjergs Making Social Science Matter: Why Social Inquiry Fails and How It Can Succeed Again (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001) over a semester. 2009/10 Co-chair, School of Communication Graduate Curriculum Review I was invited by the graduate program chair, Dr. Jan Marontate, to co-chair the curriculum review process. With Dr. Marontate, I supervised a team of three research assistants who were preparing materials for the review, planned a retreat for faculty, and wrote a final report of the process. Co-founder & technical manager, Stream: Culture/Politics/Technology Stream is a journal of Canadian graduate student research in communication studies. After participating in formative organizational work, I designed and implemented the journal website and typeset all articles for its first volume. Admissions committee student representative, School of Communication As a student representative, I evaluated application files in concert with a faculty member and helped draft the short list of applicants to the graduate programs in Communication. 20072009 Co-organizer, Cultural Studies Reading Group I actively participated in this discussion group for canonical and contemporary scholarship in the cultural-studies tradition, broadly defined. Members took turns choosing readings for the groups twenty-six sessions.

2011, 200810

2010

2008

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20062008

Chair, Communication Graduate Caucus During two terms as chair, I represented students on various committees, oversaw the administration of caucus activities, and coordinated our submission to the university re-structuring process. I also helped initiate Cultural Studies Lab, a series of talks on student research in cultural studies.

8. References
Senior supervisor Gary McCarron Associate Professor School of Communication Simon Fraser University Richard S. Gruneau Professor School of Communication Simon Fraser University Bart Beaty Professor and Head Department of English University of Calgary Shane Gunster Associate Professor School of Communication Simon Fraser University Jan Marontate Associate Professor School of Communication Simon Fraser University

Supervisors

Additional references

B. Woo vita