Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
2005-Present Ph.D. Candidate, Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture, Carleton University
2003-2005 Master of Arts, Film Studies, Carleton University
Thesis: “Making Films Sound Better: The Transition to Dolby Sound in Hollywood Cinema”
1998-2002 Bachelor of Arts, Cinema Studies, University of Toronto
EMPLOYMENT
2009-2010 Instructor, Cinema Studies, University of Toronto
2007-2008 Instructor, Film Studies, Carleton University
2007-2009 Research Consultant, “Un atlas cybercartographique du cinéma canadien : vers une nouvelle forme de langage cartographique cinématographique” ["A Cybercartographic Atlas of Canadian Cinema: Towards a New Form of Cinematic Cartographic Language"]. Two year Research Project funded by SSHRC. Université de Montréal and Carleton University
2004-2006 Research Assistant, Cybercartography and the New Economy. Five year Research Project funded by SSHRC. Carleton University
2003-2008 Teaching Assistant, Film Studies, Carleton University
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Sound theory, technology, and practice in contemporary American cinema
- American cinema and style 1960-Present
- Jewish humor and identity in film and television
- Contemporary entertainment technologies and media including video games, DVD, and “home theaters”
- History and reception of “cult” genre films from the 1930s-1980s
PUBLICATIONS
Articles in Refereed Journals
2009 “‘Why would you do that, Larry?’: Identity Formation and Humor in Curb Your Enthusiasm,” The Journal of Popular Culture, Forthcoming.
2008 S. Caquard, G. Brauen, B. Wright, and P. Jasen, “Designing Sound in Cybercartography: From structured narratives to unpredictable sound/image interaction,” International Journal of Geographical Information Science, Volume 22, Issue 11, 1219-1245.
Book Chapters
2009 Sebastien Caquard and Benjamin Wright, “Challenging the Digital Cartographic Continuity System: Lessons from Cinema,” Art and Cartography, Eds. William Cartwright, Georg Gartner, and Antje Lehn. Berlin: Springer Press, 2009
Book Reviews
2008 Review of Steve J. Wurtzler’s Electric Sounds: Technological Change and the Rise of Corporate Mass Media and William Whittington’s Sound Design & Science Fiction in Music, Sound, and the Moving Image, Vol. 2, Issue 2
2008 Review of William Whittington’s Sound Design & Science Fiction in Film & History 38.1: pp. 96-97
Internet Publications
“Favorite Moments of Film Sound: The Wilhelm Scream,” in Offscreen 11.8, <http://www.offscreen.com/biblio/pages/index/975>
PAPERS PRESENTED
Learned Societies (Peer Reviewed)
May 2009 “When Hearing and Touch Collide: Low Frequency Tactility and Immersion in Hollywood Cinema,” Film Studies Association of Canada Annual Conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
March 2008 “When Hearing and Touch Collide: Low Frequency Tactility and Immersion in Munich,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
February 2008 Sebastien Caquard and Benjamin Wright, “Challenging Cartographic Continuity: Lessons from Cinema” In Cartwright W., Gartner G. and Lehn A. (eds.), Proceedings of the Conference on Cartography and Art, Vienna, Austria
October 2007 “The Passion of Larry David: Jewish Identity and Humor in Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Canadian Society for Jewish Studies Conference 2007, Ottawa, Ontario
March 2007 “The Audience is Listening: Brand Recognition in the Age of Dolby and THX,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Annual Conference, Chicago, Illinois, USA
March 2006 “The Architecture of Sound: Sound Theory in the Age of Dolby,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Annual Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia
July 2005 Sebastien Caquard, Glenn Brauen, and Benjamin Wright, “Exploring sound design in cybercartography,” XXII International Cartographic Conference (ICC 2005), A Coruna, Spain
April 2005 “Sounding out Dolby Stereo and Acoustic Strategies in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Annual Conference, London, UK
June 2004 “Digital Soundscapes,” Film Studies Association of Canada (FSAC) Annual Conference, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba
February 2004 “Six Channel Universe: Sound Strategies in Cast Away,” Film Studies Association of Canada Graduate Student Colloquium University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
Invited Lectures and Presentations
January 2008 “The Passion of Larry David: Jewish Identity and Humor in Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Research Presentation at the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies, Carleton University
FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS
2009-2010 Ontario Graduate Scholarship – $15,000
2006-2007 Ontario Graduate Scholarship – $15,000
2005-2006 Naida Waite Graduate Scholarship for Ontario Students (Carleton University) – $10,800
2005-2009 Graduate Studies and Research Domestic Tuition Scholarship (Carleton University) – $6,000 p/year
2005-2008 Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art and Culture Departmental Scholarship (Carleton University) – $5,000 p/year
2003-2004 Film Studies Departmental Scholarship (Carleton University) – $3,500
ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITIES
2009-2010 Instructor, University of Toronto
- INI 324 Y – American Cinema of the Studio Era
2008 Instructor, Carleton University
§ Film 2601 (Genre: The Western)
2007 Instructor, Carleton University
§ Film 3901B (Introduction to the Soundtrack)
2006 Guest Lecturer
- Film 2601 (Film Comedy); Film 2601 (The Musical); Film 2201 (Mexican National Cinema)
2003-2008 Teaching Assistant, Carleton University
- Film 1000B (Introduction) Supervised by Mark Langer; Film 2901 (Documentary) Supervised by Jinhee Choi; Film 2109 (The Musical) Supervised by Mark Langer;
Film 2201 (Mexican National Cinema) Supervised by Zuzana Pick; Film 2401B (The Filmmaker) Supervised by Charles O’Brien
OTHER IMPORTANT FORMS OF SCHOLARLY PRODUCTIVITY
2007-Present Creator of cinema website and blog, Aspect Ratio, www.aspectratio.wordpress.com and Wright on Film, www.wrightonfilm.com
2002-2005 Contributor to Cinemusic.net, an online film music journal
2000-2002 Editor in Chief of The Innis Herald, a media arts journal at the University of Toronto
AFFILIATIONS
2006-Present Canadian Society for Jewish Studies (CSJS)
2004-Present Film Studies Association of Canada (FSAC)
2004-Present Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS)