Dr Poppy Wilde is a Lecturer in Media and Communication and STEAMhouse Academic Coordinator for the faculty of Art, Design and Media.

Her background is in performance studies and drama and she graduated from Aberystwyth University with a keen interest in the performance of self in digital cultures.

After undertaking a variety of modules including ‘Performance in Context’ and ‘New Media Performance’ she was inspired to research the ways in which performative styles and creation of character best known in dramatic fields are transferring into digital life. In 2013 she was awarded a 3 year funded PhD studentship in the School of Media and Performing Arts at Coventry University. Her research project incorporated her underlying interest in the interaction between humans and machines, and how our subjectivities are negotiated with and through “external” others and objects. This led to a research specialism in posthumanism.

In 2017 she completed her PhD project ‘I, Posthuman: Embodying Entangled Subjectivities in Gaming’ having researched the lived experience of MMORPG gaming with particular focus on the avatar-gamer as one embodiment of posthuman subjectivity. In her current research, she continues to work within posthumanism and game studies. She recently co-wrote the BA Immersive Media for Birmingham City University with her colleague Robin Kay and looks forward to being course leader upon its launch in September 2021.

She has expertise in digital media, social media, immersive media and performative concepts such as embodiment, presence, and affect, and can support STEAMhouse members through 1-2-1 discussions which help think through ideas for innovation and technological enhancements for projects. She loves hearing about people’s projects and plans and enjoys offering suggestions and tweaks for how things might work differently.