Ian Matthews is an experienced teacher and lecturer who has enrolled in a PhD programme at the Universidad de Vigo in order to progress his work in the concept of agency in media texts. With a background as an Education Consultant and Researcher in the fields of Videogames and Learning, English Literature, and Film Studies, he has developed a specialism in genre based representation and the methods in which gaming culture is finding new ways to provide empathetic experiences for audiences. He has worked at schools, colleges, and universities in the U.K., the U.S., Japan, and Singapore and spent five years as an Education Technologist creating both physical and digital sensory spaces that promote, enhance, and enable access to education for special needs learners. He has presented at multiple international conferences on the subjects of digital pedagogies, game cultures, and empathy.

His PhD thesis investigates the notion of 'commodified futures', i.e. the depiction of character agency and the representation of women in science fiction movies and, most notably, the female characters of Denis Villeneuve's 2017 film, Blade Runner 2049. He is particularly interested the problematic notion of determined vs deterministic sexuality represented by Ana de Armas' Joi in the film and to what extent she can be seen as more than a mere cipher for the experiences of the film's protagonist.

He is supervised by Jorge Luis Bueno Alonso and is happy to discuss opportunities for collaboration within the field of Literature, Genre, Narrative, and Empathy in Media.

BA Hons: Film and Media Studies (Sunderland University)

PGCE w/ QTLS: English, Media, Games (Sheffield Hallam University)

MA: World Cinema Studies (University of Leeds)

TEFL Qualified

Microsoft Certifed Educator