Shira Chess

Digital Media Research

My research explores ways that video games affect, and are affected by, cultural perceptions of gender and digital play. I illustrate how the gaming industry establishes a kind of feminine otherness, both inviting women to be part of digital play while simultaneously excluding them from it.
Teaching Experience

Whether using video games, film, television, or new media, these “fun” topics become a means to engage students with difficult concepts in my classes.
Curriculum Vitae

I mobilize my knowledge of media in the classroom to capture student interest in critical research. Similarly, my articles and presentations push at ways that we understand the media landscape.

Folklore, Horror Stories, & the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology

Dec. 1. 2014.

Check out my new book (co-authored with Eric Newsom): Folklore, Horror Stories, & the Slender Man: The Development of an Internet Mythology The book was published by Palgrave Pivot and is available on Amazon.

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Culture Digitally: The Two Slender Mans

Sep. 11. 2014.

I have a new blog post at Culture Digitally titled The Two Slender Mans: Many might recall that this past summer there was a bit of moral panic over the Internet meme “The Slender Man.” The panic began when two Wisconsin twelve-year-old girls stabbed a...

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Slenderman Interview: NPR ‘Here and Now’

Jun. 5. 2014.

I published an essay titled "Open sourcing horror: the Slender Man, Marble Hornets, and genre negotiations" that provided an analysis of the Slender Man myth. There has recently been increased interest in this research, and I have done some interviews, including this one regarding the Slender Man internet legend on NPR radio.

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