Andrew Wilson

Portrait of Professor Andy Wilson in front of a solid background

Biography

Andrew Wilson (Ph.D., University of Oregon) is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island’s Harrington School of Communication and Media. His research focuses on how political discourse unfolds in online gaming communities through memetic communication and paratextual content. He also studies the institutionalization of collegiate esports, with a focus on diversity and inclusion issues. Wilson’s work appears in journals including New Media & Society, Popular Communication, First Monday, and the Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports.

Research

  • media studies
  • game studies
  • video games
  • esports
  • Internet memetics
  • political communication 

Education

  • Ph.D., Communication and Media Studies, University of Oregon
  • M.A., Communication Studies, San Francisco State University
  • B.A., Communication Studies, University of San Francisco

Selected Publications

Wilson, A. (2026). God bless the South, brother: A paratextual analysis of War of Rights Steam reviews. Popular Communication, 24(2), 255–277. https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2026.2617542

Wilson, A. (2026). Playfully anachronistic and historically inauthentic: Understanding player resistance to diverse representation in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Press Start. https://press-start.gla.ac.uk/press-start/article/view/358

Wilson, A. & Burrell, S. (2025). Committed to play: Revisualizing young adults’ video game uses and gratifications during COVID-19. First Monday, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v30i3.13598

Burrell, S. & Wilson, A. (2025). “It felt like a dream”: Understanding en-roling and de-roling in virtual reality through the affect lens. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 42(9), 6789-6803.https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2498476

Wilson, A., Cote, A., Foxman, M., Harris, B., Hansen, J., Can, O., & Rahman, W. (2024). In/visible hurdles: U.S. collegiate esports participants’ perceived barriers to play and involvement. New Media & Society, 27(9).https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241252919

Cote, A., Rahman, W., Foxman, M., Wilson, A., Harris, B. C., Can, O., & Hansen, J. (2024). Esports buffs: The role of fans and fandoms in U.S. collegiate programs. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, section The History, Culture and Sociology of Sports. https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2024.1410929

Cote, A., Wilson, A., Hansen. J., Harris, B., Rahman, M., Can, O., Fickle, T., and Foxman, M. (2023). Taking care of toxicity: Challenges and strategies for inclusion in U.S. collegiate esports programs. Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1123/jege.2022-0031