Michael Hancock
@personofcon.bsky.social
Phd haver and UWaterloo English instructor. Interested in games, digital media, comic books, and gamebooks. He/him
#SundayReading Reading for classes this week included the chapter on proposals from Writing in the Sciences, and Becky Chambers' novella, To Be Taught if Fortunate. It worked really well; both my sections of the sci fi class seemed to enjoy it.
February 1, 2026 at 5:32 PM
#SundayReading Reading for classes this week included the chapter on proposals from Writing in the Sciences, and Becky Chambers' novella, To Be Taught if Fortunate. It worked really well; both my sections of the sci fi class seemed to enjoy it.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Modern and 18th c reproductive technologies
Arthurian legend
The Faust myth in global literature
Multivariate algebraic fields
Cyberpunk
Modern and 18th c reproductive technologies
Arthurian legend
The Faust myth in global literature
Multivariate algebraic fields
Cyberpunk
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Southern Law
Southern Music
Southern Women's Memoir
The Southern Renascence
Southen Architecture
I double majored in English and Southern Studies, so I wrote papers on Elvis, Hurston, and shotgun shacks. It was awesome.
Southern Law
Southern Music
Southern Women's Memoir
The Southern Renascence
Southen Architecture
I double majored in English and Southern Studies, so I wrote papers on Elvis, Hurston, and shotgun shacks. It was awesome.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Early Modern Witch Trials
Religions of India
Feminist Science Fiction
Robert Louis Stevenson
Color and 2-D Design
Early Modern Witch Trials
Religions of India
Feminist Science Fiction
Robert Louis Stevenson
Color and 2-D Design
January 31, 2026 at 4:02 AM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Modern and 18th c reproductive technologies
Arthurian legend
The Faust myth in global literature
Multivariate algebraic fields
Cyberpunk
Modern and 18th c reproductive technologies
Arthurian legend
The Faust myth in global literature
Multivariate algebraic fields
Cyberpunk
Reposted by Michael Hancock
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Southern Law
Southern Music
Southern Women's Memoir
The Southern Renascence
Southen Architecture
I double majored in English and Southern Studies, so I wrote papers on Elvis, Hurston, and shotgun shacks. It was awesome.
Southern Law
Southern Music
Southern Women's Memoir
The Southern Renascence
Southen Architecture
I double majored in English and Southern Studies, so I wrote papers on Elvis, Hurston, and shotgun shacks. It was awesome.
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Early Modern Witch Trials
Religions of India
Feminist Science Fiction
Robert Louis Stevenson
Color and 2-D Design
Early Modern Witch Trials
Religions of India
Feminist Science Fiction
Robert Louis Stevenson
Color and 2-D Design
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
1. Origins of Nazism
2. Dante’s Divine Comedy
3. Behavioral Ecology & Conservation Biology
4. Principles of Evolution
5. Thinking and Speaking About Thinking and Speaking
1. Origins of Nazism
2. Dante’s Divine Comedy
3. Behavioral Ecology & Conservation Biology
4. Principles of Evolution
5. Thinking and Speaking About Thinking and Speaking
January 31, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college:
Southern Law
Southern Music
Southern Women's Memoir
The Southern Renascence
Southen Architecture
I double majored in English and Southern Studies, so I wrote papers on Elvis, Hurston, and shotgun shacks. It was awesome.
Southern Law
Southern Music
Southern Women's Memoir
The Southern Renascence
Southen Architecture
I double majored in English and Southern Studies, so I wrote papers on Elvis, Hurston, and shotgun shacks. It was awesome.
#SundayReading this week I did a bunch of reading for my science comm class--John Swales and Katherine Feak's chapter on writing introductions, Frey and Fischer's "Mapping the Ecology of Risk," and Schutz et al.'s "Addressing undergraduate misconceptions about antimicrobial resistance."
January 25, 2026 at 4:59 PM
#SundayReading this week I did a bunch of reading for my science comm class--John Swales and Katherine Feak's chapter on writing introductions, Frey and Fischer's "Mapping the Ecology of Risk," and Schutz et al.'s "Addressing undergraduate misconceptions about antimicrobial resistance."
Just saw the Testament of Ann Lee at the local theatre. It's a dramatization of the Shakers, the 18th c religious movement. Very intense, more than half a musical, and very worth seeing in theatres.
January 24, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Just saw the Testament of Ann Lee at the local theatre. It's a dramatization of the Shakers, the 18th c religious movement. Very intense, more than half a musical, and very worth seeing in theatres.
#SundayReading There's a little bit of a lack of reading done this week, as I was doing a lot of playing instead. Specifically, I got obsessed with finishing the videogame Void Stranger, which is a sokobon (block-pushing) game, with the added wrinkle that you can move and remove floor tiles.
January 18, 2026 at 9:37 PM
#SundayReading There's a little bit of a lack of reading done this week, as I was doing a lot of playing instead. Specifically, I got obsessed with finishing the videogame Void Stranger, which is a sokobon (block-pushing) game, with the added wrinkle that you can move and remove floor tiles.
#SundayReading Academically, my reading this week consists of what I assigned the students. First, we've got Purrugganan and Hewitt's "How to Read an Scientific Article," for my Science Communication class.
January 11, 2026 at 5:55 PM
#SundayReading Academically, my reading this week consists of what I assigned the students. First, we've got Purrugganan and Hewitt's "How to Read an Scientific Article," for my Science Communication class.
#SundayReading I've actually got some academic reading to report, as I've been ramping up the prep for the sci fi class next week. Specifically, I've read Mary Bowden's "An Empire of Red Weed: Environmental Infrastructure in H G Wells' The War of the Worlds"...
January 4, 2026 at 6:23 PM
#SundayReading I've actually got some academic reading to report, as I've been ramping up the prep for the sci fi class next week. Specifically, I've read Mary Bowden's "An Empire of Red Weed: Environmental Infrastructure in H G Wells' The War of the Worlds"...
Top 5 Books I Read in 2025:
Kingfisher, The Hollow Places
Bierce John The City That Would Eat the World
Tchaikovsky, Adrian City of Lost Chances
North Ryan, Fenoglio Chris Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way
Thin, D (ed) Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror
Kingfisher, The Hollow Places
Bierce John The City That Would Eat the World
Tchaikovsky, Adrian City of Lost Chances
North Ryan, Fenoglio Chris Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way
Thin, D (ed) Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror
January 1, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Top 5 Books I Read in 2025:
Kingfisher, The Hollow Places
Bierce John The City That Would Eat the World
Tchaikovsky, Adrian City of Lost Chances
North Ryan, Fenoglio Chris Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way
Thin, D (ed) Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror
Kingfisher, The Hollow Places
Bierce John The City That Would Eat the World
Tchaikovsky, Adrian City of Lost Chances
North Ryan, Fenoglio Chris Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way
Thin, D (ed) Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror
#SundayReading This week, I took some X-Mas time off, and finally made some headway in reading through a pile of novellas for my sci fi class.
December 29, 2025 at 2:53 AM
#SundayReading This week, I took some X-Mas time off, and finally made some headway in reading through a pile of novellas for my sci fi class.
#SundayReading this week, I did some long awaited leisure reading. Most of that was Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Dawn, book three in his Empire of the Vampire series.
December 22, 2025 at 5:10 AM
#SundayReading this week, I did some long awaited leisure reading. Most of that was Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Dawn, book three in his Empire of the Vampire series.
Reposted by Michael Hancock
Archie's Madhouse, a 1960s comic series, went to some, uh, interesting places. "Anyway... he missed."
December 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Archie's Madhouse, a 1960s comic series, went to some, uh, interesting places. "Anyway... he missed."
Archie's Madhouse, a 1960s comic series, went to some, uh, interesting places. "Anyway... he missed."
December 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Archie's Madhouse, a 1960s comic series, went to some, uh, interesting places. "Anyway... he missed."
#SundayReading The student grading amped up this week as classes ended, so I've graded about 100+ science reports, posters, and research essays. So, sort of doing academic reading, once again.
December 14, 2025 at 8:42 PM
#SundayReading The student grading amped up this week as classes ended, so I've graded about 100+ science reports, posters, and research essays. So, sort of doing academic reading, once again.
Reposted by Michael Hancock
Tinker Swift, Taylor Swift, Soldier Swift, Spy Swift
December 11, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Tinker Swift, Taylor Swift, Soldier Swift, Spy Swift
#SundayReading. This is my second go at it because it turns out if you accidentally close a window, you can lose a very, very long thread.
December 8, 2025 at 5:12 AM
#SundayReading. This is my second go at it because it turns out if you accidentally close a window, you can lose a very, very long thread.
I named my fists TIRED and ADHD because
I named my fists Pride and Prejudice, because it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of two fists must be in want of whupping ass
I named my fists Common and Sense because I'm about to bring the Paine
December 1, 2025 at 5:30 PM
I named my fists TIRED and ADHD because
#SundayReading No academic reading this week--unless grading dozens of student papers counts as reading, which I suppose it does. It's just not the sort I can comment on too much.
November 30, 2025 at 10:39 PM
#SundayReading No academic reading this week--unless grading dozens of student papers counts as reading, which I suppose it does. It's just not the sort I can comment on too much.
Reposted by Michael Hancock
November 25, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Michael Hancock
Congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Dr. Kem-Laurin Lubin, who successfully defended her dissertation, "Ethotic Heuristics in Artificial Intelligence: A Rhetorical Framework for Guiding Responsible Data Design Praxis in Healthcare and Surveillance." tinyurl.com/yc8rkk7v
November 24, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Dr. Kem-Laurin Lubin, who successfully defended her dissertation, "Ethotic Heuristics in Artificial Intelligence: A Rhetorical Framework for Guiding Responsible Data Design Praxis in Healthcare and Surveillance." tinyurl.com/yc8rkk7v
#SundayReads This week I read Claudia Baxter's "AI art: The end of creativity or the start of a new movement?" It was the text chosen by majority vote by my academic writing class. I was surprised, tbh; my set last term complained the course was too AI focused, but this set really seem to like it.
November 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
#SundayReads This week I read Claudia Baxter's "AI art: The end of creativity or the start of a new movement?" It was the text chosen by majority vote by my academic writing class. I was surprised, tbh; my set last term complained the course was too AI focused, but this set really seem to like it.
#SundayReading In reading for my courses, I re-read Humphreys and Hardeman's "Mobiles in public: Social interaction in a smartphone era." I find it's a good piece for talking about in-person social media use, and reinforcing the IMRAD structure.
November 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
#SundayReading In reading for my courses, I re-read Humphreys and Hardeman's "Mobiles in public: Social interaction in a smartphone era." I find it's a good piece for talking about in-person social media use, and reinforcing the IMRAD structure.
Reposted by Michael Hancock
Congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Dr. Aleksander Franiczek, who successfully defended his dissertation, "Immersion, Roleplaying, Narrative Design: Concepts for Understanding Videogame Narrative." tinyurl.com/5xpkucwx
November 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Congratulations to our newest PhD graduate, Dr. Aleksander Franiczek, who successfully defended his dissertation, "Immersion, Roleplaying, Narrative Design: Concepts for Understanding Videogame Narrative." tinyurl.com/5xpkucwx
I like the term remap radio came up with for knowledge games, lore and logic--though I realize that the name of the term is less the issue than its overencompassing application
azhdarchid.com/against-metr...
I really do hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think so do many of you. Let's nip it in the bud before it becomes something people are financially invested in.
I really do hate the term 'metroidbrania'. I think so do many of you. Let's nip it in the bud before it becomes something people are financially invested in.
Against 'Metroidbrania': a Landscape of Knowledge Games
What are knowledge games? How do we relate them to each other? What sub-genres exist – and which ones might be implied?
azhdarchid.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:11 AM
I like the term remap radio came up with for knowledge games, lore and logic--though I realize that the name of the term is less the issue than its overencompassing application