Benjamin Kidder Hodges

Assistant Professor

Administrative Roles

  • Faculty of Social Sciences Honours College Coordinator
  • Chair, Equipment & Technology Committee, Department of Communication
  • Member, Departmental Executive Committee, Department of Communication

Academic Qualifications

  • Ph.D. (Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies, University of Texas at Austin, United States.)
  • M.A. (Américo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies, University of Texas at Austin, United States.)
  • B.A. (New College of Florida, United States.)

Dissertation Title

“Special Affect: Special Effects, Sensation, and Futures in Post-Socialist Bulgaria.”

Current Research

  • History of 3d animation and Computer Graphics, Software/Open Source Cultures
  • Balkan and American Pop Culture

Research Areas

Anthropology, Visual Culture, New Media and Technology, Film, Conceptual Art and Photography

Publications

Talks and Presentations

  • April 12, 2023 presented “Future Folklore: Imagining Futures through Worldbuilding” as part of the Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives on Global Issues series of workshops for the University of Macau Honours College

  • October 3rd, 2022 presented “Speculative Islands: virtual land reclamation in Macao, China” at MIT Open Documentary Lab WORLDING 2022 workshop.

  • October 23, 2019 presented a talk “Bulgaria – A History and Future in film” at Moon Chun Memorial College as part of their MCMC EU Lecture Series and MCMC Fellows’ Salon

  • January-April 2018 “Theories of Communication” wrote and produced a six part video course for the University of Macau’s General Education course Communication Skills and Leadership. [Completion of this course will be required of all students enrolled at UM starting in the 2018-19 academic year.]

  • November 2017 Kick the Dead Rabbit: Tuxedos, Movies, and Cosmopolitan Urban Imaginaries in Macao Department of Communication Research Seminar Series, University of Macau.

  • September 2015 Monumental Gestures: New Bodies and Publics in Sofia, Bulgaria, Department of Communication Research Seminar Series, University of Macau.

  • 2010 “Almost there” 3d animation workshop Creative Macau, introduction to compositing 3d and photographic material

  • June 2010 International Communication Association ICA Conference Virtually Urban: Modeling the City and the Public in “The Ecologies of the City: Urban Matters of Communication” Singapore.

  • July 2009 The 16th World Congress of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences User Generated Ethnography: Learning from the Visual Culture of Open Source Communities in “Towards An Epistemology Of Media In Ethnographic Film” Kunming, China. presented on the role of community in 3d animation

  • November 2008 American Anthropological Association Impossible Futures: Reflections on the Visual Culture of Bulgarian Pop(Folk) in “Engaging Images: Inscription, Negotiation, and Re-Contextualization in Visual Productions” San Francisco, U.S.A. presented on Bulgarian Pop Culture

  • October 2007 European Broadcaster’s Union Open Source Software for professionals Geneva, Switzerland

  • August 2006 3d animation workshop “Upgrade! Sofia” Sofia, Bulgaria.

  • June 2006 Vision Conference “Blender in Real-Time: Open source game design” Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria

  • February 2006 Southwest Popular Culture and American Culture Association “The Living Room: Reality, Television, and the Post-Socialist Home” Albuquerque, New Mexico.

  • October 2005 Americo Paredes Center for Cultural Studies Colloquium “Walking Around with a Gun in Your Hand: Gaming in Post-Socialist Bulgaria” Austin, Texas.

  • August 2003 South East Europe Conference “Imaging the Balkans” Pamporovo, Bulgaria.

  • 2003 Berlin Fulbright Conference “Balkan Futures: Development Discourse in Pre-E.U. Bulgaria” presented research on Bulgarian popular media Berlin, Germany.

  • 2002 Association for Cultural Studies Crossroads Conference “Tricks of the Trade” presented Masters Thesis on the culture of sharing tutorials and learning techniques Tampere, Finland.

  • February 2002 Slavic Languages Graduate Conference “Letter to America: Diasporic Narratives from Bulgaria’s Brain Drain’ presented paper on diasporic youth in Bulgaria

  • “American in Sofia” Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies Newsletter vol. 28 (2001) 32-41

  • “Independence Day” Egoist vol. 35 (2001) 67-83 published an article on everyday life in Sofia, Bulgaria

  • 2001 Out of Bounds Conference on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity “Memories of Invisibility: an archeology of digital imagery” Austin, Texas

  • May 2001 American Ethnological Society and the Canadian Academy of Sciences Conference “Shopping in Real-time: On-line Shopping and New Consumer Publics,” presented research on encryption and on-line shopping Montreal, Canada.

  • October 1998 Conference on Visual Anthropology “Mounting Time”presented ethnographic film on the art of taxidermy Philadelphia, PN.

Creative Work and Exhibitions

  • March 2024 “Food Delivery” video game demo part of “On the Move V” organized by CURB Center for Architecture and Urbanism

  • October 2023 “I’m going to go the middle of the day” solo painting exhibition part of the Script Road Macao Literary Festival in the Livraria Portuguesa

  • August 2023 “Isle of Forgotten Sins” painting exhibited in “Four Seasons: 20th Anniversary Members Collective Exhibition” at Creative Macau

  • May 2023 “Unidentified Aerial Phenomena” a photographic print exhibited as part of the Exhibition of the Collection of the University of Macau Museum of Art and the University of Macau Staff Art Exhibition.

  • May 2022 “Ancestral Echoes: A Decade of Bio Art” SVA Gramercy Gallery, New York City.

  • November 2021 “Phantasmagoria of Progress” installation part of InLight 2021 organised by 1708 Gallery at Great Shiplock Park in Richmond, Virginia.

  • July 2021 “Sea City Clam Tower” installation part of Art Macao Biennale at the Macau Center for Contemporary Art at the Navy Yard, Macao, China S.A.R.

  • May-June 2020 “Mountain Surrounded by Sea” exhibited a joint exhibition with artist Crystal W.M. Chan at the Creative Macau in the Macau Cultural Centre

  • November 2019 “AFA Autumn Salon” exhibited two oil paintings as part of this 10th anniversary juried show of Macao Artists Orient Foundation, Macao, China, SAR

  • March 2019 “The Shape of Feelings” exhibited an oil painting as part of the 8th edition of the Script Road Macao Literary Festival

  • August 2018 “Gridding Seac Pai Wan” photo exhibition in “Open Future” Creative Macau 15th anniversary group show Macao, China, SAR

  • July 2018 “Still Life” photographic print in the Student and Faculty Show Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts Guangzhou China.

  • November 2017 “Light of other Nights” led light sculpture from reclaimed materials AFA Autumn Salon 2017 Macau, China SAR

  • 2016 “Year of the Monkey” sculpture design for Venetian Macao sponsored Chinese New Year themed art exhibition

  • 2014 “Sound and Image Challenge” Creative Macau, Jury member for Animation.

  • 2014 “Horse in Motion” sculpture design for Venetian Macao sponsored Chinese New Year themed art exhibition

  • 2012 “Topologies” solo exhibition in Creative Macau, Macau, China SAR

  • 2011, “distraction“ short film exhibited as part of the “To Each Their Own University” project Macao, China SAR.

  • 2011 “the color of the room“ short film part of the Infinity project by 澳門創作人協會 Associaç̧ã̃o dos Criadores de Macau Macao, China SAR.

  • 2009 “This is my City” interdisciplinary mixed media 3d compositing project for urban planning Old Ladies’ House Art Space Macau, China SAR

  • 2006 Photography Exhibition, “Virtual Renovations: The Case of Dundokov 56” Art for the Last Time Sofia, Bulgaria.

  • Spring 2006 Director of Photography, “Letter” short film Official SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival Selection Austin, Texas.

  • June 2005 – September 2005 Director/Cinematographer “Small Futures: Envisioning Nanotechnology” 19 minute documentary short produced in association with Science and Technology Studies Program at the University of Texas Austin, Austin, Texas.

  • April 2004, Februrary 2002, September 2002 Video Art Installations, Austin Museum of Digital Art (AMODA), Austin, Texas.

  • January 2002 Principal Actor, “Yada, Yada,” Official Sundance Short Film Selection Park City, Utah

  • September 2001 Director/Cinematographer “The Little Death” official selection Cinematexas Festival of Film and Video Austin, Texas.

  • September 2001 Photography Exhibition, “Imaging the Balkans” Photographic Exhibit sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts Austin, Texas.

Grants and Awards

  • 2018 Community Service Award from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Macau

  • 2015 University of Macau Multi Year Research Grant “Vague Details: Ethnographic images of Computing and Bulgaria”

  • 2009 University of Macau Research Grant “Eurovisions: a study of the Eurovision Song contest in Moscow, Russia” May 2009.

  • 2006 International Research Exchange (IREX) Individual Research Grant Sofia, Bulgaria.

  • 2005 University Continuing Tuition Fellowship University of Texas at Austin.

  • 2004 Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) University of Texas at Austin (also awarded in 2002, 2001, and 2000).

  • 2003 Fulbright Fellowship Sofia, Bulgaria.

  • 2001 Bruton Fellowship University of Texas at Austin.

Courses taught at UM

  • Communication Skills and Leadership – General education course taught through online video lectures [Completion of this course will be required of all students enrolled at UM starting in the 2018-19 academic year.]

  • Workshop Video I (COMM4007, COMB454) – Senior level capstone course

  • Workshop Video II (COMB455) – Senior level capstone course

  • Theories of Mass Communication (COMM7701) – Masters Course

  • Digital Media (COMM715) – Masters Course

  • Creative Thesis (COMM798) – Masters thesis advising

  • Academic Thesis (COMM799) – Academic thesis advising

  • Documentary (COMM3016) – Undergraduate course

  • Digital Graphics (COMB350)– Undergraduate course

  • Video Production COMB250 – Undergraduate course

  • Advanced Video Production (COMB362) – Undergraduate course

  • Multimedia Design (COMB351, ICNM013) – Undergraduate and Graduate course

  • Photography (COMB251) – undergraduate course

  • Communication Technologies III: Audio-Visual (COMM303) – Undergraduate course

  • Digital Graphic Design and Production (BJPC303) – Undergraduate Course

  • Workshop (COMM402) – Senior level capstone course

  • Thesis (ICNM999) – Masters thesis advising

Benjamin Hodges

Contact Details

Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS)
Room: Humanities & Social Sciences Building (E21),2053
Telephone: (853) 8822 8973
E-mail address: bhodges@um.edu.mo