Samantha Close is the Post-Quals Representative for the Annenberg Communication Graduate Student Association (ACGSA)

Year: Fourth; ABD

Hometown: Raleigh, NC

Undergraduate/Graduate Institutions: Yale University, Glasgow School of Art

Research Area: Cultural Studies, Popular Culture, Theory/Practice

Dissertation Topic: Doing What You Love For A Living: Ideologies and Realities of Work for American Crafters in the Digital Age

Publications while at USC Annenberg:

"Fat Guys in Sailor Suits and AMV Hell: Fannish Masculinities in Transition." Transformative Works and Cultures. Forthcoming.

“The Political Economy of Creative Entrepreneurship on Digital Platforms: Case Study of Etsy.com.” Proceedings of the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 49. Forthcoming.

“The Absent Presence of Gender in Webcomics.” Feminist Media Studies. 15.3 (2015): 533-538.

"I Am Handmade: Crafting in the Age of Computers." Documentary short film.

"Crafting an Ideal Working World in the Contemporary United States." Anthropology Now 6.3 (2014): 68-79.

“Through the Eyes, Ears, and Fingertips of Fans: Vidders, AMV Editors, and their Sources.” Sampling Media. Ed. David Laderman and Laurel Westrup. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. 199-211.

Student Research Groups/Extracurricular Involvement: Media Activism and Participatory Politics Network, IJoC Editorial Staff

Website/Twitter: www.butnocigar.com / @butnocigar

Favorite thing about USC Annenberg: The community of professors, postdocs, and my graduate student comrades!