Peripatetic. Factotum. English Major.#
Charlie Paulk is a Research Officer in the Future Narratives division of the School of Cybernetics.
Charlie attended the University of Iowa, where he majored in English Literature and Asian Studies. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Cinema and Comparative Literature, for which his research spanned science fiction, Japanese anime, and the nascent field of technocultural studies. Following a yearlong stint as an adjunct professor and research librarian at Illinois Central College, Charlie joined the JET Programme and relocated to Oita Prefecture, Japan, where a short-term teaching contract turned into a sprawling, sixteen-year career. In addition to teaching, he worked as an international business consultant for tech companies like Sony and Toshiba, did freelance design and translation work, and brushed up his language skills by tending bar.
In 2016, Charlie returned to academia as a professor at Baiko University in Yamaguchi Prefecture, where he taught classes on English language, film, and literature. He has been published on the cyberpunk fiction of William Gibson and the architectural gamespace of The Sims. He’s a recent transplant and longtime visitor to Canberra, which he considers underrated. Pressed for a fun fact about himself, he might mention he can barefoot water ski.