Alex is a second-year PhD student at the University of Cambridge, specialising in German with an emphasis on Digital Humanities, funded by a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Alex’s research delves into the spatial principles and architectures of online ecosystems and emergent technology, resulting in the formation of a ‘Virtual Topography.’ This concept captures the intricate effects of “digital space”, rooted in Media Archeology and enhanced by the spatial theories of Walter Benjamin. Furthermore, his analysis bridges modernist theories of technology from the scenography of Franz Kafka to the contemporary theatrical work of director Susanne Kennedy. Alex’s project strives to offer critical “encrustations” (borrowed from Caroline Bassett), aiming to go beyond mere descriptive understandings of virtual spaces and portals.
He first arrived at the University of Cambridge in 2021 from the Pacific Northwest after several years working in the creative industries, as well as a stint as the co-founder and CEO of Averto, a social-impact tech start-up. Previously, Alex co-developed and managed a COVID-19 integrated software platform for Lane County Public Health and the Oregon Health Authority, researched global ethics and human rights at Oxford and with the United Nations in New York City, served as the Assistant Director on a theatrically-staged spacewalk through the universe in “All in All” at Frankfurt’s Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, and even worked as a professional actor in Los Angeles. He received an MPhil (Distinction) from the University of Cambridge in European, Latin American, and Comparative Literature and Culture and a BA in German Literature and Culture and Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon Clark Honors College.
Alex is deeply committed to work that addresses the risk of negative technological consequences, such as discriminatory systems of surveillance, data extraction, and privacy breaches, that will be amplified in emergent cross-reality environments. As commercial pillars of Web2, make increasing use of Web3 technologies, questions of racial, gender, and economic experience as articulated in virtual space will be profoundly political. I believe it is my role to not merely reflect the present but provide alternative imaginaries of the future. His research melds theoretical methodology with continued work in artistic production and technological development, resulting in contributions to the ways that our society must face these globally networked challenges.
Recent Projects:
- Upcoming: “Walter Benjamin, Media Archaeology, and Digital Scenography” at the Friedrich Schlegel Graduiertenschule, Freie Universität Berlin (Summer Semester, 2024)
- “Faust Shop Performance”: An Augmented Reality theatrical exploration of the tokenization and financialization of data through Goethe’s Faust, in partnership with Cambridge Digital Humanities and Sook – https://www.faust-shop.org/
- “Using AI to give industrial robots a sense of feeling”, in partnership with Cambridge i-Teams, Cambridge Enterprise, and Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing – https://iteamsonline.org/
- “Ed: The New, Totally Unofficial, Ginger-Inclusive Parody Sketch Show” at Edinburgh Fringe Festival — https://www.comedy.co.uk/fringe/2023/ed-parody-sketch-show/
- “Digital Solutions and Improving Contact Tracing and Public Health Outcomes” (Operations and Development Researcher) – https://around.uoregon.edu/corona-corps
