curriculum vita

| JESSICA E. TOMPKINS

curriculum vita (pdf) | LinkedIn

EDUCATION

Ph. D. Student, Media Arts & Sciences
Indiana University (IU), 2014 – Present
Advisor: Nicole Martins, Ph. D.
Minor: Sociology, Minor Advisor: Youngjoo Cha, Ph.D.

M. A., Media Arts
University of South Carolina (USC), 2014
Thesis: Playing at history: Resurrection Man and historiographic game design.
Advisor: Heidi Rae Cooley, Ph.D.
Thesis Committee: Drs. Heidi Rae Cooley (chair), Duncan A. Buell, Prof. Evan Meaney

B. A., Anthropology, magnum cum laude
University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), 2011
Minor: Sociology

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Media Representations of Sex, Gender and Ethnicity
  • The US and Japanese Video Game Industries
  • Video Game Characters and Identification
  • Gamers & Fandom
  • Game Design

REFEREED PUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS

Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I., & Fritz, N. (accepted) Sexy, strong, and secondary: An analysis of female videogame characters from 1983 to 2014. Journal of Communication. (Impact Factor at time of publication: 3.16).

BOOK CHAPTERS

Tompkins, J. E. (forthcoming). Heart breakers and life takers: Negotiated readings of military masculinities in Modern Warfare’s fanfiction. In N. Garrelts (Ed.), Call of Duty Essay Collection. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company Press.

MANUSCRIPTS UNDER REVIEW

Tompkins, J. E., Lynch, T., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (under review). [title removed to maintain peer review integrity]. Sex Roles.

REFEREED CONFERENCE PAPERS

Tompkins, J. E. (Nov. 2016). Just a boy’s game? Disruption of military masculinities in the Modern Warfare fandom. Game Studies Division, NCA Pre-Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Tompkins, J. E., Lynch, T., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (Nov. 2016). Virtual Vixens and Virgins in Japanese and U.S. Video Games. Game Studies Division, 102nd National Communication Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Tompkins, J. E., Lynch, T., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (June 2016). Kawaii killers and femme fatales: How Japanese and U.S. video game firms communicate the power of female characters. Games Studies Division, International Communication Association 66th Annual Conference, Fukuoka, Japan.

Lynch, T., Tompkins, J. E., van Driel, I. I., & Fritz, N. (November 2015). An analysis of female videogame protagonists from 1984 to 2014. National Communication Association 101st Annual Convention, Las Vegas, NV. *Top 4 Student Paper – Mass Communication Division.

Tompkins, J. E. (May 2015). Playing with history: Historiographic gameplay and design. Games Studies Division, International Communication Association 65th Annual Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Martins, N., Lynch, T. M., Read, G., Kraus, A., Malacane, M., & Tompkins, J. E. (April 2015). Social Media, Body Image, and Identity. Panel presentation on the Representation of Girls in the Media and Toys sponsored by The White House Council on Women and Girls and the U.S. Department of Education.

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Graduate Assistant for MSCH-C101 – Media
The Media School, Indiana University, Spring 2017
Assists Dr. Bryant Paul by grading weekly assignments and guest lecturing as needed in a large, lecture-based course. Leads three discussion sections of about 30 students each.

Graduate Assistant for MSCH-C207 – Intro to Media Industry & Management
The Media School, Indiana University, Fall 2016
Assists Dr. Rob Potter by grading weekly assignments and guest lecturing as needed in a large, lecture-based course.

Graduate Assistant for MSCH-C101 – Media
The Media School, Indiana University, Spring 2016
Assisted Dr. Laura Meadows in a large lecture-based course and led three discussion sections. Led three discussion sections of about 30 students each.

Graduate Assistant for G320 – Game Art & Sound
The Media School, Indiana University, Fall 2015
Assisted Prof. Norbert Herber by grading weekly assignments and instructed two computer lab sections on software for sound and art design for digital games.

Research Assistant to Carlina de la Cova, Ph.D.
Montague Cobb Research Laboratory, Howard University, Summer 2015
Assisted Dr. de la Cova with pathological analysis of 72 female skeletons, data entry, and research in Howard University’s archive of Dr. W. Montague Cobb’s personal letters.

Associate Instructor for T284 – Intro to Interactive Media Design
Department of Telecommunications, Indiana University, Spring 2015
Assisted Prof. Norbert Herber by grading weekly assignments and taught two computer lab sections on web design for a medium-sized, lecture-based course.

Associate Instructor for T260 – The Video Game Industry
Department of Telecommunications, Indiana University, Fall 2014
Assisted Prof. Mike Sellers by grading assignments and exams and guest lecturing as needed in a medium-sized, lecture-based course.

Graduate Instructor for MART110 – Media Cultures
School of Visual Art and Design, University of South Carolina, Fall 2013 & Spring 2014
Taught required Media Arts introductory course (cross-listed with Film and Media Studies) and prepared lectures, quizzes, exams, and assignments for over thirty students.

Graduate Assistant for MART110 – Media Cultures
School of Visual Art and Design, University of South Carolina, Fall 2012 & Spring 2013
Monitored attendance, participation, graded projects, and guest lectured as needed in a lecture-based course with over 100 students.

AWARDS & HONORS

Indiana University
I Need Diverse Games GDC Scholarship, 2016 – Awarded an All-Access pass to attend the 2017 Game Developer’s Conference (GDC).
Center of Excellence for Women in Technology’s Outstanding Student Leadership Award, 2016
ICA Travel Grant Recipient, 2015
Graduate Tuition Scholarship, Fall 2014 – Spring 2019 ($15,750 per annum)

University of South Carolina
The Graduate Media Arts Research Award, Spring 2014
Funded Teaching Assistantship, Fall 2013 & Spring 2014
Funded Graduate Assistantship, Fall 2012 & Spring 2013

University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Chancellor’s List, Fall 2010 & Spring 2011
Dean’s List, Fall 2008-Spring 2011

 INVITED LECTURES

The Video Game Industry: From AAA to Indie (Fall 2016)
MSCH-C207, Intro to Media Industry & Management, The Media School, IU

Pretty Deadly: Female Characters in Japanese Video Games (Fall 2016)
MSCH-V334, Beauty and its Global Beholders, The Media School, IU

Children & Video Games (Fall 2016)
MSCH-S317, Children and Media, The Media School, IU

Video Games & Game Design (Spring 2016)
MSCH-C101, Media, The Media School, IU

Women in the Video Game Industry (Fall 2015)
TEL-T 203, Women in the Media, The Media School, IU

Non-Entertainment Video Games: Serious, Persuasive, and Educational (Fall 2014)
T260 The Videogame Industry, Department of Telecommunications, IU

Video Games and Violence (Spring 2013)
MART110 Media Cultures, Film and Media Studies Program, USC

The Global Flow of Visual Culture (Fall 2012)
MART110 Media Cultures, Film and Media Studies Program, USC

OTHER PRESENTATIONS

Music and Gaming Education Symposium (MAGES)
Music and Gaming Festival (MAGFest), National Harbor, MD, Jan. 2017
Participated as discussant on several panels about video game research and design.

Paper Prototyping and Playtesting Workshop
North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA) conference, Oct. 2016
Co-hosted a two-hour workshop for members of NASAGA on using paper prototypes for iterative game design.

Code with Your Kid Workshop
CEWiT & Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities workshop, Oct. 2016
Hosted a two-hour workshop for approximately thirty IU faculty/staff and their children on using Fungus to create 2D interactive fiction games.

When Work is Play: Video Game Research in The Media School
Graduate Student Mini-Conference Panel Participant, The Media School, IU, April 2016
Discussed research on representations of women in North American and Japanese video games conducted through content analysis and textual readings.

Video Game Level Design with Mario Maker
Techie Women Have More… Conference, Feb. 2016
Hosted a workshop on video game level design that used Super Mario Maker as an example at the Center of Excellence for Women in Technology’s annual conference.

IndieBits
Columbia, SC, April 2014
Demoed video game Resurrection Man at independent festival.

Historiographic Game Design
Graduate Student Day, USC April 2014
Presented thesis research to a general audience.

StellarCon
Greensboro, NC, March 2012
Analyzed Harry Potter fan identity with survey-based research.

SERVICE TO THE FIELD

Competitive Paper Reviewer, Fall 2015
International Communication Association: Game Studies Division & Pre-Conference (2016-2016), Popular Communication (2016), and Mass Communications Divisions (2016)

Pre-Conference Committee Member
Just Games? Considering how Digital Games can be more than Entertainment.
Game Studies Division, 2016 International Communication Association, Tokyo, Japan

SERVICE TO THE DEPARTMENT

IU Graduate and Professional Student Government Representative, Fall 2016-Present
Attends monthly meetings of the GPSG as a departmental representative of the Media School serving as a member of the voting body for the organization; acts as liaison between GPSO and Media School Graduate Association and serves on the Health and Wellness Committee.

Representative of the Media School
Techie Women Have More… Conference, March 7, 2015

Luncheon for Undergraduate Women in Game Design
Indiana University, December 13, 2014

Student Anthropological Society, Secretary
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Fall 2009 – Fall 2012

SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Volunteer, Wonderlab Museum of Science, December 2016
Spoke to Indiana Girl Scouts about video game technologies and game design. Answered questions for the girls’ requirement to earn the “Entertainment Technology” badge.

Make it Digital!: Fungus/Unity, Spring 2016 – Spring 2017
Leads a workshop for all ages on Fungus/Unity game design software at Monroe Country Public Library once per semester.

Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club, Official Member, February 2010 – Present
Volunteers at local events dressed as Star Wars character.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

International Game Developer’s Association

International Communication Association, Affiliations: Game Studies Division

National Communication Association, Affiliations: Game Studies Division, Mass Communication Division, Feminist and Women’s Studies Division

SELECTED PUBLIC COMMENTARY

“Through the Gates” Podcast (2016), interviewed by IU’s Janae Cummings about women in gaming and the sexualization of female characters in video games.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Lead Intern, Center of Excellence for Women in Technology (CEWiT)
Indiana University, Fall 2015 – Present
Leads the development of the Women in Game Design special interest group and hosts workshops for IU students and faculty on game design software.

 MEDIA DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Hoosier Games, Student Game Developer
The Media School, Indiana University, Spring 2016
Led team of student game developers during design of a 2D video game.

iPad Application Content Designer, Ghosts of the Horseshoe App
Media Arts program, University of South Carolina, Fall 2012 & Spring 2014
Designed images and textual content to contextualize USC’s historic brick wall.

Film Producer, Mr. Irrelevant
Media Arts program, University of South Carolina, Fall 2012
Scheduled filming days, coordinated crew, edited script, secured filming locations, and designed costumes and props.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Operating Systems: Windows, Macintosh
Adobe Applications: Photoshop, DreamWeaver, PremierePro, Flash, Audition
Office Applications: Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, Word
Statistics Software: SPSS
Game Engine Software: Unity, Fungus
Computer Languages: HTML, CSS
Other: WordPress, Audacity, GarageBand, GIMP