[Air-L] 2016 Nancy Baym Book Award

[Michelle Gardner]

The Nancy Baym Book Award for 2016 is presented to Whitney Phillips for This
Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online
Trolling and Mainstream Culture (MIT Press)
<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262028948/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0262028948&linkCode=as2&tag=assocofinterr-20&linkId=1c8a213e3ea88425edd015cf069ad62d>
(2015). The committee, which included Nancy Baym, Tama Leaver, and
Stephanie Schulte, found Whitney’s historical perspective on trolling
useful and important when put in the contemporary context of Fox News and
Gamergate. The book delves deeply into the phenomenon of Internet trolls
and trolling, arguing that there is not just an individual problem but a
larger culture problem that gives rise to trolling. The committee found
Phillips’ book to be the right balance between accessibility and scholarly
depth – suitable for both academic and  mainstream reading.

Dr. Whitney Phillips holds a PhD in English with a Folklore structured
emphasis (digital culture focus) from the University of Oregon, and an MFA
in Creative Writing (fiction) from Emerson College.

Congratulations Dr. Phillips!!

Michelle
AoIR Association Coordinator