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Academic Work

2022 – “Graphing vitality: Terror Management Theory, spiritual transformation and schizoanalysis/re-synthesis as hypertext research-creation.”

[Master’s thesis]

https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-gf2k-4e20

(To read/play, download the HTML file from the link above and open on a modern web browser). A Digital Humanities master’s thesis written in the style of an interactive fiction that gamifies the research process. Grounded in Terror Management Theory and drawing on queer and neurodivergent experience, the project uses hypertextual reading (and writing) to relate and re-enact a spiritual transformation. This was the first fully digital master’s thesis to be accepted by the University of Alberta.

A screenshot of the thesis cover page with a jet black background. The clickable title appears at the top in glowing text the colour of organs: “Graphing Vitality: Terror Management Theory, Spiritual Transformation, and Schizoanalysis/Re-Synthesis as Hypertext Research-creation.” The author, program information, etc. appear in white text below. The bottom tenth of the background forms a gradient from black to brain-matter pink. The effect suggests the interior of a skull yet is reminiscent of Earth’s horizon from space.

“Chapter 1: a library in the sky”

![“Rounding the curve of the fleshy corridor, your eyes land on an enormous library. (You thought you were inside a head, but now you are inside a library.) Shelves upon shelves are lined with books, and there are many of what appear to be warm and comfortable seating areas. On the left side of the room, great windows with open velvet curtains bathe the room in natural light. You sense a low hum coming from beneath your feet, as if the room were alive, or some monstrous machinery were groaning away many floors beneath you. In the distance, a thousand propellers.” Two options appear in hazy pink text. Hovering over an option causes its text to glow and become readable: ”Explore the library.” “Look out the window.”

A left sidebar displays four extra options: “return,” “save,” “sources,” and “thanks.”](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/4c764dbb-0635-4861-b8a9-3810d6fc198d/chapter_text.png)

2022 – Queer Chatter

[Digital map]

A graduate student project by Jingwei Wang and me. Tweets containing "queer keywords" sent within Canada over a seven-day period were scraped, analyzed for sentiment using Google's Natural Language API, and mapped according to available geolocation data. Users could browse tweets while sorting by political lean, sentiment and geolocation. A toggleable population density overlay was provided for reference. (The site is no longer maintained.)