About Dr Stephanie Farnsworth
My research and teaching interests are at the intersection of science fiction, gothic studies, and video game studies, with a particular enthusiasm for all things monstrous.
Teaching and supervision
I am module leader for a number of core and optional modules. These include:
- MED1501– Creative Project
- EEM102 – Gaming Culture
- EEM305 - Esports Major Project
- MED3303 – Cult Media.
I also teach:
- FIP1005– Film History and Criticism
- FIP1002– Creative Storytelling
- MED3202 Cinema and The Senses.
Interests
My PhD is focused on examining the intersection between the Gothic and video game studies. I am the co-founder of the academic network MultiPlay, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to video game studies. I have hosted numerous conferences on video games, and have several upcoming monographs in 2026/7. As such, I am interested in supervising projects relating to:
- Gothic video games
- Bioethics in new media
- Monstrous bodies
- Futurism
- Biological science fiction/biopunk and cyberpunk projects
- Posthumanism and cyborgology.
Research
My research interests involve speculations of the body, and depictions of all things monstrous. My PhD thesis is a study of non-normative populations in the video game series Mass Effect.
Areas of expertise
- Monsters
- The Gothic
- Video games
- Bioethical representations
- Marginalisation/representations of marginalisation (disability, race, feminism).
Further information
I am the co-editor for the Bloomsbury series Video Games in Focus (2026) as well as editor of the games studies collection, Games That Haunt Us (2026).
My monograph Cyberpunk 2077: Cyborg Bodies, Communities and Culture is due to be published by Bloomsbury in December 2026.
I am the founder and co-chair of the academic network, MultiPlay, which has approximately 250 international members. MultiPlay hosts regular conferences and has an active editorial board.