In this talk, UM grad Dr. Amanda Cote will discuss the formation and work of the University of Oregon Esports and Games Research (EGR) Lab, an interdisciplinary, multimethodological research group she co-leads with Dr. Maxwell Foxman. The EGR lab focuses on the study of collegiate esports, a rising force on college campuses that affects student experiences, athletics, university communities, branding, and more. Cote will address how the lab developed, how its nine members bring their varied interests to bear on the shared question of collegiate esports, and some of the group’s initial findings. She will also discuss the opportunities and challenges inherent in running a lab as a qualitative researcher and as a pre-tenure faculty member. This talk will straddle both research and professional development concerns, presenting lessons learned as an early career scholar alongside game studies findings.



Bio: Dr. Amanda Cote (acote@uoregon.edu) is Assistant Professor of Media Studies/Game Studies at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. She explores the industry and culture of video games, with an emphasis on gender, identity, labor, and representation. Her first book, Gaming Sexism: Gender and Identity in the Era of Casual Video Games, was published by New York University Press in 2020. Cote has published further work in venues such as Journal of Communication, Convergence, Feminist Media Studies, and edited book collections.