Give yourself some grace to be human so that loving yourself and others might be easier.”
Jalin Niamke Jackson (he/him)
PhD Candidate in the Department of Black Studies
Jalin Jackson is a PhD candidate in Black Studies in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, specializing in the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in digital technologies, particularly within video games. His research focuses on how video games both reflect and perpetuate constructs of race. Jalin is a recipient of a Mellon Cluster Fellowship in Latin American and Caribbean Studies.
How would you describe your research and/or work to a non-academic audience?
I research how various digital entertainment mediums facilitate the formation of identity, both through the content they offer and the technologies they employ. Additionally, I explore how Black literary figures throughout history contemplated the intersection of technology and race, and often foreshadowed contemporary discussions surrounding video games long before their inception. I am currently researching the history of video games and how they developed alongside prominent political and economic ideologies.
Tell us what inspired your research and/or work.
I grew up playing everything from Atari to Dreamcast to the PlayStation 3. At the same time, though I'm often late to the party, I experienced the rapid rises and falls of different social media forms throughout my life—everything from Myspace in the early 2000s to the anonymous posting app YikYak during my undergrad. I have been fond of modifying, or “modding,” video games since I was a child, so technology has always been an integral part of my life.
It feels like technology is moving faster than most of us realize, including myself. More than ever, we should be asking questions about how we want to use technology in the future and how we want to connect with each other in the digital world. It's important to think about our options and what kind of relationships we want to have with technology in light of all these advancements.
What do you find both rewarding and challenging about your research and/or work?
I get to dive in and explore computers, game systems, apps, and websites to a deeper degree than I might do casually. The research is also very time-consuming because one franchise often spans many different forms of media. For example, the Marvel universe covers games, films, comic books, and so on. In addition, it is very easy for the research to become disorganized unless I have a formulaic way to stay on track. I find myself bouncing between all these different forms of media and then getting confused about where and when I found all of the information in the first place.
What inspires you?
People fighting the good fight who haven't given up hope! I’m inspired by our ability to teach and learn and change and love.
What did you originally want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a WWE wrestler! We had a whole fantasy system set up in grade school where we would imagine what our wrestling personas would be. Recess figure-fighting was awesome, too. And of course, I played every wrestling video game I could find—the best games are the ones where I could create my own wrestler. I no longer see wrestling in my future, but I still follow wrestling organizations and local events to the degree I'm able to.
What advice would you give your younger self or someone considering a similar path?
1) Doors are going to open and close. If you have the time and energy to see what's on the other side, go, take that look, and make that journey.
2) Ethics are important, and so are you. Give yourself some grace to be human so that loving yourself and others might be easier.
3) Ask the question that excites you, that animates you, that gives you butterflies, that makes your brain go, go, go.
Publish Date: February 27, 2024
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