Shelfie: Brandon Harris

Brandon Harris is a doctoral student in media studies at the University of Oregon. His interests in digital media, online community, and video games intersect with cultural studies. Brandon studies online communities that form around video games, as well as their customs, norms, and behaviors. Of particular interest has been the rising popularity of the streaming platform Twitch.tv, which Brandon views as one of the most innovative media platforms on the Internet.

Brandon has always been a gamer but has recently taken interest in Twitch’s ability to foster communities as well as shared cultures centered around a variety of activities, not just gaming. There are channels that feature cooking, weightlifting, dating advice, as well as news broadcasts all housed on the same streaming platform. While these are niche examples, Twitch’s potential to create a global shared culture can be seen through the rampant popularity of Fortnite-based dances like the Floss and the Shoot.

Brandon’s been using the majority of the New Media and Culture coursework to familiarize himself with post-colonial, feminist, as well as queer theoretical discourses that will inform his research on representation throughout the Twitch community.