Andy is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Journalism and Communication who works at the intersection of game studies and critical/cultural studies, focusing on the memetic discourses and paratexts produced by online gaming communities. His dissertation examines the influence of the online far-right in gaming culture, especially its potential for shaping attitudes and expectations around games and gaming.

Andy has published original research in New Media & Society and the Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports. His writing also appears in Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies and Popular Music and Society. His work has been presented at the annual conferences of the International Communication Association, Digital Games Research Association, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Western States Communication Association, Southwest Popular Culture Association, Esports Research Network, and Meaningful Play.

Before attending the SOJC, Andy was an adjunct communication studies lecturer in the School of Language Arts and Communication at Long Beach City College and Humanities Division at Fullerton College. 

Education

• Ph.D. in Communication and Media Studies, 2021-Present
• M.A. in Communication Studies, San Francisco State University, 2018
• B.A. in Communication Studies, University of San Francisco, 2016                                                                                                                

Publications

• Cote, A., Rahman, W., Foxman, M., Wilson, A., Harris, B. C., Can, O., & Hansen, J. (2024). Esports Buffs: The Role of Fans and Fandoms in U.S. Collegiate Programs. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1410929
• Wilson, A., Cote, A., Foxman, M., Harris, B., Hansen, J. Can, O., & Rahman, M. (2024). In/Visible Hurdles: U.S. Collegiate Esports Participants' Perceived Barriers to Play and Involvement. New Media & Society, 0(0). OnlineFirst. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241252919
• Cote, A., Wilson, A., Hansen. J., Harris, B., Rahman, M., Can, O., Fickle, T., and Foxman, M. (2023). Taking Care of Toxicity: Challenges and Strategies for Inclusion in U.S. Collegiate Esports Programs. Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1123/jege.2022-0031
• Wilson, A. & Burrell, S. (Under review). Committed to Play: Revisualizing Video Game Uses and Gratifications During COVID-19. First Monday.
• Burrell, S. & Wilson, A. (Under review). Born Again: Understanding En-Roling and De-Roling in Virtual Reality Through the Affect Lens. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.

Reviews

• Wilson, A. (2024). Book review: The Rule Book: The Building Blocks of Games. H-Net Reviews in the Humanities & Social Sciences. 
• Wilson, A. (2024). Book review: Defiant Sounds: Heavy Metal Music in the Global South. Popular Music and Society, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2024.2355727
• Wilson, A. (2023). Book review: Understanding Collegiate Esports: A Practitioner’s Guide to Developing Community and Competition. Convergence, 29(5), 1409-1411. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565231184706

Refereed Conference Proceedings

• Foxman, M., Can, O., Wilson, A., Cote, A., Harris, B. C., Rahman, M. W. U., Hansen, J. & Fickle T. (2023, June). Facilitating Collegiate Esports: Limiting and Legitimizing Competitive Gaming. DiGRA ’23 – Proceedings of the 2023 DiGRA International Conference: Limits and Margins of Games. http://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/1993
• Can, O., Foxman, M., Wilson, A., Cote, A., Rahman, W., Burrell, S, Harris, B. C., Hansen, J., & Fickle T. (2023, June). The Limits of Influence: Negotiating the Hegemony of Game Companies in Collegiate Esports in the US. DiGRA ’23 – Proceedings of the 2023 DiGRA International Conference: Limits and Margins of Games. http://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/1974
• Cote, A., Rahman, M. W. U., Foxman, M., Wilson, A., Burrell, S. L., Harris, B.C., Can, O., Hansen, J. C., & Fickle T. (2023, June). The Fandom Frontier: Understanding the Limitless(?) Potential of Collegiate Esports Fans. DiGRA ’23 – Proceedings of the 2023 DiGRA International Conference: Limits and Margins of Games. http://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/2010
• Foxman, M., Cote, A. C., Wilson, A., Can, O., Hansen, J. C., Harris, B. C., Rahman, M. W. U., Fickle, T. (2022, November). Sustainable Grassroots: Tensions, Expectations and Recommendations in Formalizing Collegiate Esports. Esports Research Network Conference. 25–28 https://esportsresearch.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/01

Refereed Conference Presentations

• Harris, B. C., Wilson, A., & Flonk, D. (2024, November). Don’t Crash the Party: Analyzing Altchans, Shitposts, and Hate Raids. Paper accepted to the (Re)Valuing the Creator Economy: Platforming Conversations in/across Communication Studies Preconference, affiliated with the 110^th National Communication Association Annual Conference. New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Foxman, M., Harris, B. C., Wilson, A., & Cote, A. (2024, November). An Even Playing Field: Retheorizing the Collision of Esports and Universities. Paper accepted to the Esports Research Network Conference.
• Arangelov, V., Wilson, A., Cote, A., & Foxman, M. (2024, November). From Consoles to Campuses: Understanding Intergenerational Perceptions of Collegiate Esports. Paper accepted to the Esports Research Network Conference.
• Foxman, M., Cole, C., Fairchild, T., Cote, A., & Wilson, A. (2024, June). The Collegiate Census: Mapping U.S. Esports. Paper accepted to the 74^th International Communication Association Annual Conference. Gold Coast, Australia.
• Abdenour, J., Wilson, A., Hedding, K., & Dahmen, N. (2024, June). Woman vs. Woman vs. Woman: Gender, Media Attention, and Voting Impact in an All-Female Election. Paper accepted to the 74^th International Communication Association Conference. Gold Coast, Australia.
• Wilson, A. & Burrell, S. (2024, June). Committed to Play: Revisualizing Video Game Uses and Gratifications During COVID-19. Paper accepted to the 74^th International Communication Association Annual Conference. Gold Coast, Australia.
• Cote, A. & Wilson, A. (2024, June). #whatagamedevlookslike: Marginalized Gameworkers and Oscillating Public Spheres. Paper accepted to the 74^th International Communication Association Annual Conference. Gold Coast, Australia.
• Wilson, A. (2024, March). God Bless the South, Brother: A Paratextual Analysis of War of Rights Steam Reviews. Paper presented at the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference’s Video Game Studies SIG. Boston, Massachusetts.
• Wilson, A. (2023, May). It’s just a prank, bro: Examining the Memetic Discourses of Far-Right Politics in Game-Adjacent Spaces. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Conference’s Game Studies Division Preconference. Toronto, Canada.
• Wilson, A. (2023, May). Do You Guys Not Have Any Phones? Why Game Studies Needs Memetics. Paper presented at the 73^rd International Communication Association Conference. Toronto, Canada.
• Burrell, S. & Wilson, A. (2023, May). I was Born Again: En-Roling and De-Roling in Virtual Reality Through the Affect Lens. Paper presented at the 73^rd International Communication Association Annual Conference. Toronto, Canada.
• Cote, A., Harris, B. C., Wilson, A., Hansen, J., Can, O., & Rahman, M. (2023, May). (In)Visible Hurdles: U.S. Collegiate Esports Participants’ Perceived Barriers to Play and Involvement. Paper presented at the 73^rd International Communication Association Annual Conference. Toronto, Canada.
• Harris, B. C., Wilson, A., Cote, A., Burrell, S., Fairchild, T., Hansen, J., Can, O., & Rahman, M. (2023, May). Is it worth it? Student Media Workers’ Cruel Optimism in Collegiate Esports. Paper presented at the 73^rd International Communication Association Annual Conference. Toronto, Canada.
• Wilson, A. (2023, February). Isolation Play: Video Game Uses and Gratifications During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Paper presented at the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association Conference. Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• Bouzek, D. & Wilson, A. (2022, October). Falling Out of the Real-World and Into Right-Wing Inceldom: Redditors’ (Mis)reads of Political Themes in Fallout 4. Paper presented at the Meaningful Play Conference. East Lansing, Michigan.
• Harris, B., Foxman, M., Can, Ö., Hansen, J., Cote, A., Rahman, M., Fickle, T., & Wilson, A. (2022, June). Platform Jumpers in an Ivory Tower: The platformization of U.S. universities through esports. Paper presented at the Global Perspectives on Platforms & Cultural Production Conference. Amsterdam, Netherlands. 
• Wilson, A. (2022, April). Into the Mouth of Hell We March: North American Heavy Metal Culture and Its Relation to Mainstream Society. Paper presented at the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference. [Virtual]
• Wilson, A. (2018, February). World of Women(craft): An Analysis of Gender Portrayal in World of Warcraft. Paper presented at the Western States Communication Association Conference. Santa Clara, California.