Semiotic Blocks

Website of Matthew Wells, PhD, itinerant instructor, game developer

Academic CV

This is always in desperate need of updating, but please find my resume here, as well as in the text below:

Education
2017 – 2019
Toronto Metropolitan University
SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow

2012 – 2017
University of Toronto
PhD Faculty of Information

2010 – 2012
University of Toronto
Master of Information

2009 – 2010
University of Toronto
PhD Medieval Studies [not obtained]

2008 – 2009
University of Toronto
M.A Medieval Studies

2005 – 2008
Carleton University
B.A. (Hon.) History

1995 – 1999
McGill University
B.Sc. Computer Science

Employment
Course Instructor: October 2023 – December 2023 [mid-term replacement], Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1240, Research Methods.

Course Instructor: September 2023 – December 2023, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1501, Culture & Technology I.

Course Instructor: September 2023 – December 2023, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2401, Coded Culture: The Rise of Digital Media Platforms.

Course Instructor: May 2023 – June 2023, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2401, Coded Culture: The Rise of Digital Media Platforms.

Course Instructor: January 2022 – April 2023, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: January 2023 – April 2023, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1005H Section 0118, Creating and Exploring Software Environments with JavaScript and Node.js.

Course Instructor: October 2022 – December 2022, February 2023 – April 2023, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF313H1, Introduction to Computational Reasoning

Course Instructor: January 2023 – April 2023, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: September 2022 – December 2022, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2401, Coded Culture: The Rise of Digital Media Platforms.

Course Instructor: May 2022 – June 2022, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2401, Coded Culture: The Rise of Digital Media Platforms.

Course Instructor: May 2022 – July 2022, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: January 2022 – April 2022, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: January 2022 – April 2022, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1502, Culture & Technology II.

Course Instructor: September 2021 – December 2021, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2401, Coded Culture: The Rise of Digital Media Platforms.

Course Instructor: September 2021 – December 2021, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1240, Research Methods.

Course Instructor: May 2021 – June 2021, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2401, Coded Culture: The Rise of Digital Media Platforms.

Course Instructor: January 2021 – April 2021, Master of Digital Media program, Ryerson University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: January 2020 – April 2020, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1502, Culture & Technology II.

Course Instructor: September 2019 – December 2019, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2331, The Future of the Book.

Course Instructor: January 2019 – April 2019, Department of Communication, Popular Culture & Film, Brock University. Course: COMM 2P91, Social Media.

Course Instructor: January 2019 – April 2019, Department of English, Ryerson University. Course: ENG304, Making Digital Work.

Course Instructor: January 2019 – April 2019, Master of Digital Media program, Ryerson University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: January 2018 – April 2018, Master of Digital Media program, Ryerson University. Course: DG8111, Digital Publishing.

Course Instructor: May 2017 – June 2017, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF2320, Remix Culture.

Teaching Assistant: January 2017 – April 2017, Periklis Andritsos, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1343, Data Modeling and Database Design.

Teaching Assistant: January 2017 – April 2017, Michelle Lui, Course Instructor, Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, University of Toronto Mississauga. Course: CCT286H, Interactive Media Design.

Course Instructor: September 2016 – December 2016, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: INF1310, Introduction to Reference.

Teaching Assistant: September 2016 – December 2016, Nadia Caidi, Associate Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: CCT218H, Introduction to Information Studies.

Research Assistant: September 2013 – December 2014, August 2015 – April 2017, Sara Grimes, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto.

Teaching Assistant: September 2013 – December 2013, Periklis Andritsos, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Course: IN1340, Introduction to Information Systems.

Research Assistant: January 2012 – April 2012, July 2012 – June 2013, Alan Galey, Associate Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto.

Awards

External
2017 – 2019 SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship
2015 – 2016 Ontario Graduate Scholarship
2014 – 2015 Ontario Graduate Scholarship
2009 – 2012 Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (Declined after April 2010)
2009 – 2010 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Declined)
2008 – 2009 Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters
2008 – 2009 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Declined)

Internal
2011 Library Services Centre Award in Cataloguing University of Toronto
2009 Avie Bennett Scholarship University of Toronto
2008 Graduate Admission Award University of Toronto
2008 University Medal in Arts Carleton University
2008 Underhill Prize in History Carleton University
2007 Fitzroy Township Historical Society Scholarship Carleton University
2007 General In-Course Scholarship Carleton University

Publications

Refereed
Wells, M.J. and Boyd, J. (2019). “Generating gameworlds with computers: the case for procedural creativity.” Information and Learning Sciences, 120(5/6), 266-284.

Wells, M. (2018). Game not over: end-user programming and game system modding as models for extending community engagement. Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Electronic Publishing (ELPUB), Toronto, June 2018.

Wells, M. (2016). Deliberate constructions of the mind: simulation games and fictional models. Games and Culture. 11(5), 528-547.

Wells, M. (2015). Social semiotics as theory and practice in library and information science. Journal of Documentation, 71(4), 691-708.

Wells, M. (2014). The programmer as player: uncovering latent forms of digital play using structuration and actor-network theory. Loading…, 7(12), 59-80.

Non-Refereed
Wells, M. (2008). Rediscovering the lost homines of eleventh-century Aragon: a re-examination of a medieval social and political community. Undergraduate Thesis.

Presentations
“Starting From Scratch: Building Games on a Pedagogical Programming Platform.” Meeting of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Vancouver, June 2019.

“Game Not Over: End-User Programming and Game System Modding as Models for Extending Community Engagement.” 22nd International Conference on Electronic Publishing (ELPUB), Toronto, June 2018.

“A Historical Perspective on Kids DIY Gaming.” Meeting of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Toronto, June 2017.

“Balancing Bits: A History of Resource Management Games.” Meeting of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Calgary, June 2016.

“Cold War Games: SimCity, Civilization, and the Legacy of Operational Gaming.” Meeting of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Ottawa, June 2015.

“Spacewar Mode: How Early Digital Games Normalized the Screen.” Game History Annual Symposium, Montreal, June 2014.

“Playing at Making, Phase 1: Findings and Discussion Points.” With S. Grimes, A. Harvey, B. Van Gorp, A. Cybulski, S. Danilovic, and A. Keenan. Canadian Communication Association (CCA) Annual Conference. Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, St. Catharine’s, May 2014.

“Fun and Games with the Computer: Programming as Play in the Microcomputer Era.” Meeting of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, St. Catharine’s, May 2014.

“8 Bits is Enough: The Rise of Retro Gaming.” Presentation and gaming session. Critical Gaming Series, University of Toronto, March 2014.

“Conceptual Space: Engaging With Digital Game Worlds Using Metaphor Theory.” Meeting of the Canadian Game Studies Association (CGSA), Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Victoria, June 2013.

“Games in Film – ‘Tetris: From Russia With Love.’” Panel discussion with Susan Abramovitch and Brett Caraway. Semaphore Research Cluster, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, January 2013.

“Girlfriend Mode: A discussion on portrayals of women in games and gaming.” Co-presented with Mat Calverley and Tracy Munusami. Critical Gaming Series, Semaphore Research Cluster, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, October 2012.

“The Right Not to Fight: The Hostis in the Medieval Kingdom of Aragon.”
Interdisciplinary Medieval Studies Conference: “Battle and Bloodshed: Representations of War in the Middle Ages”, University of Sheffield, June 2009.

“The Hostis in the Medieval Kingdom of Aragon”. Pierre Savard Conference, University of Ottawa, April 2009.

“War on Posterity: British Reaction and Response to the Destruction of Louvain by German Forces in August 1914”. History Undergraduate Colloquium, Carleton University, February 2007.