Bell, David, Dr.

By Malena Gustavson on 05 Sep | 0 comments

David Bell is a senior lecturer in Critical Human Geography, School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK. He will visit GEXcel in Spring 2009.

GEXCEL PROJECT: Geek Myths: technomasculinities in cybercultures

The figure of the geek or nerd is commonplace in popular culture; from the paranoid hacker to the addicted gamer, and from the asocial and asexual 'IT guy' to the narcissistic blogger, popular stereotypes of the geek constitute a particular formation of masculinity (though 'geek girls' contest this). I am interested in beginning a cultural analysis of the geek, and of the broader culture work that this figure does in the context of computer cultures. The folk history 'popular computing', which locates the emergence of cyberculture in the 60s counterculture, is an important strand to this story. I am also interested in Richard Florida's discussion of 'the gays and the geeks' as pioneers in the creative city, and in how broader debates about genders in cybercultures have conceptualized an emergent 'technomasculinity'. A central focus will be how the figure of the geek both contests and reinforces hegemonic masculinities. This project builds on my interest in cultural studies of science and technology, and my previous work on cybercultures and on sexualites, in order to consider the cultural location that the geek currently occupies, and what this location tells us about gender, sexuality and technology. I am also interested in exploring the globalization of the geek.