Project Coordinator

Dr. Michael Wesch Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology and Digital Ethnography 2008 U.S. Professor of the Year Kansas State University mwesch@ksu.edu

Dubbed "the explainer" by Wired magazine, Michael Wesch is a cultural anthropologist exploring the impact of new media on society and culture. After two years studying the impact of writing on a remote indigenous culture in the rain forest of Papua New Guinea, he has turned his attention to the effects of social media and digital technology on global society. His videos on technology, education, and information have been viewed by millions, translated in over ten languages, and are frequently featured at international film festivals and major academic conferences worldwide. Wesch has won several major awards for his work, including a Wired Magazine Rave Award, the John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis in Media Ecology, and was recently named an Emerging Explorer by National Geographic. He has also won several teaching awards, including the 2008 CASE/Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year for Doctoral and Research Universities.

Recent Publications ...

• From Knowledgable to Knowledge-able: Learning in New Media Environments Academic Commons Jan 2009
• "Revisiting a Vision of Students Today" Britannica Blog.  October 2008.  (also to be published in Journal of Media Literacy)
• "Creating "Kantri" in Central New Guinea: Relational Ontology and the Categorical Logic of Statecraft"   M/C 11(5)
• "Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance."   Education Canada 48(2):4-7. Jan 2008.
• "An In-Depth Look at the Cyber-Phenomenon of Our Time: Web 2.0"   Lawlor Review.  Spring 2007.
• "What is Web 2.0?  What does it mean for Anthropology?"   Anthropology News. May 2007.
• "A Witch-hunt in New Guinea.  Anthropology on Trial."   Anthropology and Humanism 32(1):4-17.  Jan 2007

KSU Digital Ethnography in the news ... (RSS)

• Wesch named "Emerging Explorer" by National Geographic .  February 2009
• When College Students Reinvent the World.   Christian Science Monitor.  January 2009
• Wesch Named "Coolest Man on the Planet" The Pitch Dec 11th 2008
• Professor Wins National Award for Innovative Teaching KSU Collegian. Dec 2nd 2008
• OurTube by David Byrne in "Moments that Mattered" NY Times Magazine Nov 21st 2008
• Wesch selected as Carnegie/CASE national professor for resesarch/doctoral universities November 20th 2008
• Top Profs Inside Higher Ed November 20th 2008
• 2008 Professors of the Year prepare students for lifelong learning USA Today November 20th 2008
• 4 Faculty Members Are Honored as US Professors of the Year Chronicle of Higher Ed. November 20th 2008
• "An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube" Top 100 All Time Education Videos on YouTube. August 6th 2008
• "Anthropology of YouTube" at the Library of Congress featured in Chronicle of Higher Ed. June 24th 2008
• "A Vision of Students Today" on ABCnews.com, March 10th 2008
• Michael Wesch: Toward an Ethnography of YouTube, MediaShift Idea Lab, February 8th 2008
• Wesch selected for Encyclopaedia Britannica's Editorial Board of Advisors, January 25th 2008
• World Simulation featured in "The Next New Thing" January 2008
• Mediatedcultures.net on BBC's Click, January 10th 2008
• Thanks to YouTube, Professors Are Finding New Audiences, Chronicle of Higher Education Jan 9th 2008
• "Friending, Ancient or Otherwise" December 2nd 2007. New York Times
• A Vision of Students Today featured on YouTube's Front Page, October 26th 2007
• Wesch on Future Tense, October 25th 2007
• Information R/evolution #1 on Technorati, October 21st 2007
• A Vision of Students Today in The Chronicle's "The Wired Campus" October 17th 2007
• A Vision of Students Today #1 on Technorati, October 16th 2007
• "Will you marry me? Say cheese!" September 20th 2007. New York Times
• Wesch wins the John Culkin Award for Outstanding Praxis in the Field of Media Ecology - June 2007
• 'omg my mom joined facebook!!' June 7th 2007. New York Times
• An Anthropologist Explores Video Blogging. May 7th 2007. The Chronicle of Higher Education - see video
• Wesch wins Wired magazine Rave Award - Wired Magazine May 2007
• Tech Tops the Pop Charts. March 15th 2007. PC World
• Wesch interview with John Battelle. February 18th 2007.
• YouTube is a hit in K-State classroom, world. 49 ABC News. February 15th 2007.