Zach Whalen
Associate Professor of Digital Studies | University of Mary Washington
Fredericksburg, VA, UNITED STATES
Dr. Whalen's research focuses on computer-generated literature, video games, and graphic narrative.
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Biography
Zach Whalen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Linguistics and Communication where his teaching focuses on the critical study and practice of digital media in a variety of genres, including video games, electronic literature, comics, and other media. He has published journal articles and scholarly essays on video games, including an article in Game Studies: The International Journal of Computer Game Research, and book chapters on Silent Hill, Grand Theft Auto, and early game consoles. With Laurie N. Taylor, Zach Whalen is the co-editor of Playing the Past: History and Nostalgia in Video Games, published by Vanderbilt University Press in 2008.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Computer-Generated Literature
Digital Studies
Digital Humanities
Video Games
Twitter Bots
Electronic Literature
Education (3)
University of Florida: Ph.D., Post-Graduate Studies
University of Florida: M.A., Graduate Studies
Carson-Newman College: B.A., Undergraduate Studies
Affiliations (1)
- Electronic Literature Organization
Links (2)
Media Appearances (4)
THE LAST OF US: THE MUSICAL TRANSPOSITION IN THE SERIES IS A REVOLUTION
Blog Flavio Perrone; Wired online
2023-02-02
Zach Whalen, a professor in Digital Studies at the University of Mary Washington, suggests that for both the game world and its characters to be as believable as the cinematic, they need distinct theme music attributed to locations and different characters within the game, the so-called sound theme or leitmotif, capable of recalling the narrated character through the chanting of short and impalpable notes.
UMW professors find creative ways to teach through COVID-19
Fredericksburg Today online
2020-05-04
Teaching at Mary Washington looks a bit different lately.
UMW Converges Time and Technology in 80s Exhibit
University of Mary Washington online
2015-04-15
The University of Mary Washington converged time and technology with its interactive “Console Living Room” exhibit, a collection of 1980s technology that was on display through May 2015. Featuring more than 100 video games, movies and technologies, the exhibit was arranged within a 1980s living room set-up.
Whalen Presents at MLA Conference
Eagle Eye online
2014-01-15
Zach Whalen, Assistant Professor of English, participated in three events at the recent Modern Language Association conference in Chicago. On Jan. 10, 2014, he was part of a reading of electronic literature, where he and colleagues read from twitter bots in a “Bot Choral.” On Jan. 11, 2014, he was a panelist on the roundtable discussion “Electronic Literature after Flash.” His remarks were titled “Lexia to Perplexia (2000-2013)” and addressed the obsolescence of a key piece of second-generation electronic literature. On Jan. 12, 2014, he presented the paper “Ebooks, Typography, and Twitter Art” in the session “Lit Misbehavin.” This paper addressed the poetics of twitter bots.
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