Dr Nic Crowe

Nic Crowe is a qualified Teacher, Youth and Community Worker and Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. He is an experienced Practitioner with a background in technology and cultural studies. His main research focuses on "The Fantasy Cultures of Youth", specifically:

• Young People's use of On-Line Games
• Virtual Worlds and Learning Communities
• Young People and Fantasy Role Play
• Young People’s experiences of Manga, Anime and the Fantasy genre
• The 'dark-side' of digital technology

His PhD thesis was a five year ethnographic study of an on-line world entitled ‘Hanging with the Catherby Shark Gurlz’ and other Runescape stories’. It focused on young people’s use of the internet for gaming, and looked particularly at virtual identities, virtual communities and their culture(s). He has made a number Media appearances talking about on-line gaming and its associated culture, including a presentation of his Runescape research for Radio 4’s ‘Thinking Allowed’.

Research Interests

At present, Nics main research focus is the ‘Darkside’ of digital technology’, in particular ‘Internet Trolls’, ‘Grief Tourism’ and ‘Pro-Ana/Pro-Mia digital presences’. 

He is also exploring the links between digital play and the curriculum, specifically the ways that digital games can be used as tools for learning.

Research Details

Forthcoming Papers and Chapters

Crowe, N and Watts M. “I once went to a lecture sitting in my bath!” The use of virtual worlds as learning environments for distance-learning students. (in final preparation)

Crowe, N. and Watts, M. “Tasha the Tank Engine” Death and memory in contemporary youth culture: grief or gossip? (in preparation)

Crowe, N. “When I click ‘ok’ I become Sassy – I become a girl” –Boys, Girls and Gender Benders: subverting the ‘body’ in MMORPGs. (in preparation)

Publications

Journal Papers

(2012) Crowe, N. and Watts, M., “When I click ‘ok’ I become Sassy – I become a girl” Young People and Gender identity: Subverting the ‘body’ in Massively Multi-player On-line Role Playing Games., International Journal of Adolescence and Youth Online

(2012) Crowe, N., “It’s like my life but more, and better!”- Playing with the Cathaby Shark Girls: MMORPGs, young people and Fantasy-based social play, International Journal of Adolescence and Youth 16 201- 223

(2006) Crowe, N. and Bradford, S., ‘Hanging out in Runescape': identity, work and leisure in the virtual playground, Children's Geographies 4 (3) : 331- 346

Book Chapters

(2013) Crowe, N. and Flynn, S., Hunting down the monster: Using multi-play digital games and on-line virtual worlds in secondary school teaching. In: Leask, M. ed. Learning to teach using ICT in the secondary school (3rd edn). Abingdon : Routledge/Taylor Francis

(2011) Crowe, N., "We die for the glory of The Emperor": Young People and Symbolic Experimentation with the 'Darkside' in On and Off-line Role Playing Games. In: J Marshall Beier. ed. The Militarization of Childhood: Thinking Beyond the Global South.. Palgrave Macmillan

(2011) Crowe, N., Virtual and online research with young people. In: Bradford, S. and Cullen, F. eds. Research and Research Methods for Youth Practitioners. Routledge

(2007) Crowe, N. and Bradford, S., Identity and structure in on-line gaming: young people's symbolic and virtual extensions of self. In: Hodkinson, P. and Deicke, W. eds. Youth cultures: scenes, subcultures and tribes. New York, NY : Routledge 217- 228