Curriculum Vitae Bob Rehak brehak1@swarthmore.edu Office Home Program in Film and Media Studies 409½ Elm Avenue Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA 19081 500 College Avenue 610-328-1427 Swarthmore, PA 19081 610-957-6204 Academic Background Ph.D. Communication and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington, 2006 Dissertation: State of the Art: Special Effects in U.S. Blockbuster Franchises Analyzes the production of and publicity around special visual effects in four multimedia franchises, arguing for an expanded understanding of effects cultural trajectories, technological histories, and aesthetic lineages. Barbara Klinger (chair), James Naremore, Joan Hawkins, Christopher Anderson, Michele Pierson (reader) Minor: Telecommunications Masters in Immersive Mediated Environments (MIME) M.A. Communication Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 2000 Thesis: Avatarial Operations in Subjective-Viewpoint Videogames Surveys the graphical evolution of first-person videogames, using psychoanalytic film theory to analyze identification and hailing in new media. Ken Hillis (chair) B.A. English, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, 1992 Professional Experience Assistant Professor, Film and Media Studies, Swarthmore College Courses taught: Introduction to Film and Media Studies, Animation and Cinema, Television and New Media, Video Production Workshop. Courses planned: Fan Culture, Media Genres: Horror
Rehak / CV / 2 Visiting Assistant Professor, Film and Media Studies, Swarthmore College, 2006-2007 Teaching and Research Interests Media History and Theory, Videogames, Animation, Special Effects, Digital Actors, Popular Culture, Fandom, Blockbuster Hollywood, Science Fiction Publications Peer-Reviewed Articles The Migration of Forms: Bullet Time in Circulation. Film Criticism. (Forthcoming) Lara Croft and New Media Fandom. Information, Communication, and Society 6:4 (2003). 477-496. Book chapters Lara Croft and New Media Fandom. The Cybercultures Reader, 2 nd Ed. Eds. David Bell and Barbara Kennedy. London: Routledge, 2007. (Forthcoming) Of Eye Candy and Id: The Terrors and Pleasures of Doom 3. Videogame/Player/ Text. Eds. Barry Atkins and Tanya Krzywinska. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007. (Forthcoming) Playing at Being: Psychoanalysis and the Avatar. The Video Game Theory Reader. Eds. Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron. New York: Routledge, 2003. 103-127. Reviews Future Cinema: The Cinematic Imaginary after Film. Eds. Jeffrey Shaw & Peter Weibel. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, April 2005 www.com.washington.edu/rccs/booklist.asp Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created An Empire and Transformed Pop Culture. David Kushner. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, January 2004 Visual Digital Culture: Surface Play and Spectacle in New Media Genres. Andrew Darley. Scope: An Online Journal of Film Studies, August 2003 www.nottingham.ac.uk/film/scopearchive/bookrev/bookarch.htm The Language of New Media. Lev Manovich. Scope, August 2003
Rehak / CV / 3 ScreenPlay: Cinema/Videogames/Interfaces. Eds. Geoff King & Tanya Krzywinska. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, July 2003 Anatomy of Film, 3 rd Edition. Bernard F. Dick. Scope, May 2003 Editorial Sky s the Limit. Digital Games Research Association, March 2005 www.digra.org/hardcore/ Invited Conference Presentation Animation Futures. International Forum on the Culture Industry, Mass Media, and Entertainment. Kun Shan University, Tainan, Taiwan (April 2006) Conference Papers and Presentations Pervasive Animation: From Mobile Telephony to Gallery Installation. Workshop participant. Society for Animation Studies, Portland, OR (June 2007) Seriality and Transmedia Storytelling. Panel Moderator. Media in Transition 5, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA (April 2007) Design Networks and Final Frontiers: Star Trek as a Prototype for Transmedia Entertainment. Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Chicago, IL (March 2007) Remediating Stuntwork: Special Effects and Performance in The Lord of the Rings and Classical Hollywood. Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Vancouver, Canada (March 2006) Not Just Funny Bunnies: The Interdisciplinary Futures of Animation Publishing and Opportunities for New Scholarship. Workshop participant. Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Vancouver, Canada (March 2006) George Lucas Raped My Childhood: Auteurs, Special Effects, and the Manufacture of Nostalgia. Panel Chair. Society for Cinema and Media Studies, London, England (March 2005) The Migration of Forms: Bullet Time in Circulation. Muybridge: Motion-Illusion-Spectacle, London, England (November 2004) Double Duty: Digital Stunt Bodies. Society for Animation Studies, Urbana-Champaign, IL (September 2004)
Rehak / CV / 4 24: Real and Unreal Time. Console-ing Passions, New Orleans, LA (May 2004) Special Effects in Circulation. Panel Chair. Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Atlanta, GA (March 2004) Mapping the Digital Imaginary: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Computer Games and CGI. Panel Chair. National Communication Association, Miami, FL (November 2003) The Other Phantom Limb: Pornography, Neuroscience, and Virtualized Desire. National Communication Association, Miami, FL (November 2003) When Great Games Go Bad: Grand Theft Auto 3 and the Interface of the Everyday. Association of Internet Researchers, Toronto, Canada (October 2003) Anxious Heroes, Puzzle Films, and the Aesthetics of Digital Noir. Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Minneapolis, MN (March 2003) Thou Shalt Not Corpse-Camp: The Politics and Poetics of Videogame Cheating. National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA (November 2002) Notes Toward an Aesthetics of Synthespianism. Society for Animation Studies, Glendale, CA (September 2002) Policing Future History: Star Trek s Readers and Writers as Terminal Subjects. Midwestern Conference on Film, Language, and Literature, DeKalb, IL (April 2002) Playing at Being: Avatarial Operations in First-Person Videogames. Society for Literature and Science, Atlanta, GA (October 2000) Lenses that Love: Machine Desire in Science-Fiction Film. Science Fiction Research Association, Cleveland, OH (June 2000) Teaching Experience Designed courses From Broadcasting to Podcasting: Television and New Media (Swarthmore College, 2007): Covers major trends in critical thought regarding electronic and new media, including the rise of broadcast television, recent developments in programming and distribution, and emerging screen technologies from videogames to podcasts. Animation and Cinema (Swarthmore College, 2006): Explores the forms, technologies, and cultural history of animation in the context of narrative and avantgarde cinema.
Rehak / CV / 5 Cultures of Videogaming (Indiana University, 2005): Introduces students to ethnographic methods of studying interactive media; surveys history of videogame programming and playing culture, 1960-present. History and Theory of Special Effects (Indiana University, 2003): Examines the evolution of visual and practical effects in cinema, 1895-present; considers critical theory on realism, Hollywood, spectacle, simulation, and new media. Other courses Introduction to Film and Television Studies Video Production and Criticism Mass Communication Composition Public Speaking Honors and Awards Department of Communication and Culture, Bloomington, IN Virginia Gunderson Award for Distinguished Scholarship (March 2003) Excellence in Teaching Public Speaking (Spring 2005) Excellence in Teaching Video Production and Criticism (Spring 2004) Travel Grant (2000, 2004) Department of Communication Studies, Chapel Hill, NC Outstanding Achievement in Service and Leadership (April 2000) Graduate School Merit Scholarship (September 1998) Professional Affiliations and Service Associate Editor, Animation: An Interdisciplinary Journal Member, Digital Games Research Association Member, Society for Cinema and Media Studies Member, Association of Internet Researchers Member, National Communication Association Reviewer, Journal of New Media and Culture (2005) Speech Instructor Training (2001, 2004, 2005) Friedman Student Film Competition Judge (2001) Graduate Student Association President, UNC-Chapel Hill (1999)
Rehak / CV / 6 References Barbara Klinger Professor and Acting Chair, Department of Communication and Culture, Indiana University James Naremore Professor Emeritus, Department of Communication and Culture, Indiana University Michele Pierson Lecturer in Film Studies, King s College, London Patricia White Professor and Chair, Film and Media Studies, Swarthmore College