DR. AKIL FLETCHER
Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows & Lecturer in Anthropology
Princeton University
ABOUT ME
Hi there! My name is Akil Fletcher and I am an anthropologist who researches the confluence of race and online games. I received my Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of California, Irvine where my work explored how Black individuals create identity, community, and alternative forms of play within online games and gaming spaces.
Currently, I am a Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Princeton University where I teach, write and continue to explore the wonderful worlds people make both in and out of games!
If you want to learn more or just play some games together feel free to get in touch!
CURRENT & UPCOMING PROJECTS
Check
DISSERTATION:
PLAYING IN COLOR
“AN EXPLORATION OF BLACK GAMING COMMUNITIES AND PRACTICES.”
6/2023
Led by my chair Dr. Tom Boellstorff, and my advisors Dr. Kishonna Gray, and Dr. Damien Sojoyner, this dissertation explores Black gaming communities and the practices they utilize to create space, community, and belonging within online gaming sites. More specifically, however, this work is an exploration of Black worlds and the process in which Black individuals create worlds of imagination and play through the vast networks they form. This work is the culmination of two years of fieldwork utilizing ethnographic methods such as participant observation, forms of elicitation such as interviews, and digital archival research. In doing so, I write about how Blackness comes to exist within gaming sites that are often perceived to be anti-Black.
CONTACT ME
Thanks for your interest, feel free to get in touch with any questions or comments regarding my work or publications. I’d love to hear from you!