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Shira Chess (she/her)

@shirachess.bsky.social

1.3K followers 430 following 32 posts

Associate Prof. of Media Studies @ UGA Current projects: 1. The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse (MIT press, 2026)💫 2. Freaks in the Machine: Mondo 2000 in Late 20th century digital culture (Strange Attractor with RU Sirius)

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · 18h

My new book, THE UNSEEN INTERNET (about the intersections between magical thinking and tech innovation) is officially available for pre-order via @mitpress.bsky.social!

mitpress.mit.edu/978026255388...

The Unseen Internet

Our contemporary digital landscape often reflects a strange logic: Elon Musk believes there’s a one-in-a-billion chance that we are not living in a com...

mitpress.mit.edu

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · May 16

From here on out, all of my author photos will be cosplaying as Todd Rundgren. Photo by Bart Nagel.

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · May 13

A Tale of two editors.
Me interviewing two iconic 80s/90s magazine editors from opposite ends of the publishing spectrum: Kevin Kelly (Whole Earth, Wired) and V Vale (RE/Search).

Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Feb 15

ARE YOU TURNED OFF BY YOUR COMPUTER? (Yup!) Ad from High Frontiers Issue 1 (1984).

High Frontiers magazine ad from 1984 leading with “are you turned off by your computer? Having problems turning your computer on?”

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Reposted by Shira Chess (she/her)

Wunpini F. Mohammed, PhD @wunpini.bsky.social · Feb 9

Exactly 10 months from today, my first monograph will be published. 📚 ✨️

I can't wait for you all to see her. I have been working on this book for 6 years. 😤 I'm so excited! 😊

It's going to be a Detty December 💃🏿 🇬🇭
Let the countdown begin...⏳️

10 months...

Book Title: Media, Culture & Decolonization: Rerighting the Subaltern Histories of Ghana

Author: Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed

Rutgers University Press

December 9, 2025

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 11

Oh hey, this Marvin Minsky cover pull quote from Electric Word (Jane & Louis’ pre-WIRED magazine) did not age very well….

Cover of Electric Word magazine, Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcslfe’s pre-WIRED pub from January/February 1990.

AI pioneer Marvin Minsky is in a photo and quoted on the cover: “Like women wanting the streets back - at some point programmers will want their programs back.”

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Reposted by Shira Chess (she/her)

R.U. Sirius @rusirius.bsky.social · Dec 5

@shirachess.bsky.social has announced the completion of her new book and it's fantastic! It's "The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse" (MIT Press, 2026) and it's extremely fantastic. Here's the TOC

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 5

❤️

Reposted by Shira Chess (she/her)

Fox Harper @foxharper.bsky.social · Dec 5

Dr. Chess is both an insightful researcher and an engaging writer. I think a lot of y’all will find this up your alley when it happens!

Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

My new book is called The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse (MIT Press, 2026). [2/7]

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Reposted by Shira Chess (she/her)

Noah Springer @noahspringer.com · Dec 5

So excited for this one! And so is pretty much everyone I discuss it with

Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

My new book is called The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse (MIT Press, 2026). [2/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

I absolutely could not have done it without your insights....

Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

I did my best to write an academic book that people will need some popcorn to read. For now, here’s my Table of Contents! [7/7]

Table of contents for The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse by Shira Chess
Introduction: Magic in the Air
Chapter 1: Technopaganism and the Summoning of Cyberculture
Chapter 2: From Sigils to Meme Magic
Chapter 3: From Rituals to Games
Chapter 4: From Gnosticism to Simulations
Chapter 5: From Manifestation to Reality Tourism
Chapter 6: From Demons to AI
Conclusion: Nothing is True; Everything is Permitted

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

As I said, it was a blast. It won’t be out until early 2026, but I am happy to be talking about it. I could not have done it without a lot of amazing people giving me feedback, interviews, and helping me find resources. I won’t tag those of you who did, but I hope you feel my gratitude. [6/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

Topics include: reality shifting, Randonautica, Mandela effects, XaTuring: God of the Internet, government woo, elevator game, cult of kek, Loab, Meta Phase Typewriter, becoming a werewolf (FAST!), The KLF, The Invisibles, TESCREAL, Skeletor, Max Headroom, dybbuk box, tulpamancy, & WitchTok. [5/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

Ch 1 establishes how technopaganism influenced Bay Area culture and its output. For the rest of the book, I trace threads to now, where we can still see the residue of magical thinking in surprising places, telling us things about how the internet has shifted our perceptions of reality. [4/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

Here’s the pitch: When we talk about digital technologies, we often frame it in atheistic ways. In TUI, I explore how technopagan influences of the 90s conjure an ineffable and often esoteric way of understanding some of the desires and motives in the early days of cyberculture. [3/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

My new book is called The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse (MIT Press, 2026). [2/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 4

Many of you know that I have moved away from game studies in recent years, for reasons too personal (and too boring) to disclose. For 3 years I’ve been working on a book; the most fun I’ve ever had doing research. I’ve completed my final draft and I’m finally ready to tell people about it… [1/7]

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 3

Oh wow I just bought this and it was EXACTLY what I needed. Thank you!

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Dec 3

Historians: what software/app do you like for building complex timelines?

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Nov 18

Thanks - any info to pass along is helpful!

Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Nov 17

Yup! That was on my agenda to discuss with them. Thanks for the reminder. 😊

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Nov 17

Internet research friends: I have a grad student who wants to do qual analysis involving internet forums, specifically looking at comments on Reddit and streaming platforms.

Do any of you have recs for software that can scrape comments for this kind of work that I can pass along?

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Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Nov 16

Overheard Gen Alphas last night:

Tween 1: do you want to play poker?
Tween 2: are you betting for money?
Tween 1: No. we are betting for emotions.

Shira Chess (she/her) @shirachess.bsky.social · Nov 14

* not actually all of my small army of Nintendo DSs.