Matthew Kapell
Encyclopedia
Matthew Wilhelm Kapell is an historian
and anthropologist best best known for four edited academic volumes on popular culture, film, and television. The first, (with William G. Doty) is Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation
(2004). The second is (with John Shelton Lawrence
) Finding the Force of the Star Wars Franchise: Fans, Merchandise, and Critics (2006) and adds Wilhelm to his name. In 2010 Kapell published Star Trek as Myth: Essays on Symbol and Archetype at the Final Frontier and, working with British scholar Stephen McVeigh, Kapell co-edited The Films of James Cameron: Critical Essays in 2011. All of the volumes provide multiple essays by academics and others on different cultural interpretations on the films and franchises under examination.
Kapell has also published a number of essays in the journal Extrapolation
, and elsewhere, on speculative fiction in the United States as intellectual history.
He has co-authored chapters on the genetics of human growth and the effects of poverty on growth. The majority of this work appeared while he taught anthropology at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. Included among these are essays published mainly in edited European and Indian (Asia) works attacking ideas of genetic factors in determining development of height and body shape. Other publications include works on the computer game Civilization
, Holocaustal images in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
, the American speculative fiction and socialist writer Mack Reynolds
re-working of the Utopian fiction of Edward Bellamy
, and Christian
Romance
fiction.
Kapell's work in history is mainly focused American frontier ideology in the contemporary period, though he has also published on the representation of "race" in the Detroit media during World War II
.
Kapell was educated at Schoolcraft College
, The University of Michigan–Dearborn, Wayne State University
, all in Michigan
, US, and at Swansea University
, Wales
, UK.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and anthropologist best best known for four edited academic volumes on popular culture, film, and television. The first, (with William G. Doty) is Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation
Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation
Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation is a book about The Matrix trilogy of films and other associated media. It was published by Continuum Press in 2004 and edited by Matthew Kapell , anthropological historian, and William G...
(2004). The second is (with John Shelton Lawrence
John Shelton Lawrence
John Shelton Lawrence is an emeritus professor of philosophy at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. His initial major publication, The American Monomyth, written with Robert Jewett, was published in 1977.-Career:...
) Finding the Force of the Star Wars Franchise: Fans, Merchandise, and Critics (2006) and adds Wilhelm to his name. In 2010 Kapell published Star Trek as Myth: Essays on Symbol and Archetype at the Final Frontier and, working with British scholar Stephen McVeigh, Kapell co-edited The Films of James Cameron: Critical Essays in 2011. All of the volumes provide multiple essays by academics and others on different cultural interpretations on the films and franchises under examination.
Kapell has also published a number of essays in the journal Extrapolation
Extrapolation
In mathematics, extrapolation is the process of constructing new data points. It is similar to the process of interpolation, which constructs new points between known points, but the results of extrapolations are often less meaningful, and are subject to greater uncertainty. It may also mean...
, and elsewhere, on speculative fiction in the United States as intellectual history.
He has co-authored chapters on the genetics of human growth and the effects of poverty on growth. The majority of this work appeared while he taught anthropology at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. Included among these are essays published mainly in edited European and Indian (Asia) works attacking ideas of genetic factors in determining development of height and body shape. Other publications include works on the computer game Civilization
Civilization (series)
Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy, 4X video games produced by Sid Meier. Basic gameplay functions are similar throughout the series, namely, buiding a civilization on a macro-scale from prehistory up to the near future...
, Holocaustal images in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
, the American speculative fiction and socialist writer Mack Reynolds
Mack Reynolds
Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Clark Collins, Mark Mallory, Guy McCord, Dallas Ross and Maxine Reynolds. Many of his stories were published in Galaxy Magazine and Worlds of If Magazine...
re-working of the Utopian fiction of Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
, and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Romance
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
fiction.
Kapell's work in history is mainly focused American frontier ideology in the contemporary period, though he has also published on the representation of "race" in the Detroit media during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Kapell was educated at Schoolcraft College
Schoolcraft College
Schoolcraft College is a two-year community college located in Livonia, Michigan with a satellite campus in Garden City, Michigan. Schoolcraft College was established in 1961. Originally named Northwest Wayne County Community College, the name of the college was changed because of the length...
, The University of Michigan–Dearborn, Wayne State University
Wayne State University
Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
, all in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, US, and at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, UK.
External links
- Matthew Wilhelm Kapell interview at "the Matrix 101" web site:http://www.thematrix101.com/books/jacking_interview.php
- Matthew Wilhelm Kapell's web site with listing of all his publications: http://matthewkapell.com/