Nicholas Knouf

Nicholas Knouf is an Assistant Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA. His research explores the interstitial spaces between media studies, information science, critical theory, digital art, and science and technology studies. Ongoing work includes sylloge of codes, a self-contained wireless network that explores communication codes in the wake of Snowden, and Art for Spooks (with Claudia Pederson), an augmented reality book that takes a poetic approach to electronic surveillance.

Past work includes the Journal of Journal Performance Studies, a series of three interrelated works on academic publishing; MAICgregator, a Firefox extension that aggregates information about the military-academic-industrial complex (MAIC); Fluid Nexus, a mobile phone messaging application designed for activists and relief workers that operates independent of a centralized network; robotic puppetry projects that engage with psycho-socio-political imaginaries; and sound works that encourage the expression of the unspeakable.

Past and current work has been recognized by a number awards, including an Honorary Mention by Prix Ars Electronica in [the next idea] category (2005), the Leonardo Abstracts Service (LABS) for his master’s thesis (2008), a memefest Award of Distinction (2008), and a special transmediale “Online Highlight” (2009). Additionally, his work has been discussed in print and online media, including ID Magazine, the Boston Globe, CNN, Slashdot, and Afterimage.