Faculty & Staff

Nicholson School of Communication and Media

 

 

 

Biography

Dr. Natalie Underberg-Goode is Professor and Associate Director, Games and Interactive Media, in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. Her research examines the use of digital media to preserve and disseminate folklore and cultural heritage, with a focus on digital storytelling and participatory new media design and practice. She is author of the books Multiplicity and Cultural Representation in Transmedia Storytelling (Routledge, 2023) and Digital Ethnography: Anthropology, Narrative, and New Media (Elayne Zorn, co-author, University of Texas Press, 2013), editor of a special issue of the international journal Visual Ethnography on Exploring Digital Ethnography through Embodied Perspective, Role-Playing and Community Participation and Design, and author of 35 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings. She has directed or co-directed multiple digital heritage projects over the years, including Portal to Peru (https://projects.cah.ucf.edu/portaltoperu), which presents and interprets the weaving traditions and experiences of weavers in Cuzco, Peru, a project completed in collaboration with the non-profit Center for Traditional Textiles of Cuzco. She has been PI or co-PI on research and teaching grants and fellowships totaling nearly $205,000, in addition to receiving a competitive two-semester sabbatical at ¾ pay and being Key Personnel on a $185,000 Department of Education grant. These grants and fellowships include two Florida Humanities Council, two Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs grants, The Strong Research Fellowship, and flow-through funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her research has been presented at more than two dozen national and international conferences, including the Bilan du Film Ethnographique seminar in Paris, France and the Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA).

In addition to research, Dr. Underberg-Goode has developed core courses for the Digital Media and Latin American Studies programs and electives for the Film and Texts and Technology programs at UCF. She has taught or teaches courses in a variety of areas including digital and interactive storytelling, research methods, video game history, and Latin American popular culture, as well as Visual Anthropology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru-Lima. Over the course of her career, she has served her profession through such activities as co-organizing three international and three regional conferences, being electronic media featured and reviewed projects editor for Visual Anthropology Review, electronic media featured and reviewed projects editor for the Journal of American Folklore, and digital story and electronic literature curator for Aquifer: The Florida Review Online. She is currently the vice-chair of the Department of State Florida Folklife Council and a member of the Advisory Group for Research Evaluation at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru-Lima.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University (2002)
  • B.A. in Sociocultural Anthropology from University of California, Berkeley (1996)

Research Interests

  • Digital folklore
  • Digital ethnography
  • Digital storytelling
  • Visual anthropology
  • Participatory digital methods
  • Latin American folklore and cultural heritage
  • Cultural heritage tourism
  • Peru and Latin Americans in U.S.

 

Selected Publications

Books

  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. Multiplicity and Cultural Representation in Transmedia Storytelling: Superhero Narratives. New York: Routledge.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. The Evolution of Video Games. Dubuque, IA: Great River Learning (forthcoming 2018).
  • Underberg, Natalie M. and Zorn, Elayne (2013). Digital Ethnography: Anthropology, Narrative, and New Media. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Edited Collections

  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (Ed.) (2016) Special issue of Visual Ethnography on Exploring Digital Ethnography through Embodied Perspective, Role-Playing, and Community Participation and Design.  Visual Ethnography v5(2).

Articles/Essays

  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., and Parrish, Jesslyn (2022). Designing Visual Communication to Encourage Conscientious Tourism. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change: 1-15.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2020). Participatory Research and Design in the Portal to Peru. Annals of Anthropological Practice 43(2).
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., Andrews, Edwanna, Burke, Mike, Hill, Amanda, Horn, Elizabeth Brendel, Jones, Natasha, and Wheeler, Stephanie. (2020). I am UCF: Diverse Digital Narratives. Media Education Research Journal 9(1): 86-110.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., and Boyd, Alex (2019). Life/Ways: Self-Expression through Digital and Interactive Storytelling. Storytelling Self Society 15(2): 225-245.
  • Hill, Amanda, Brown, James, Horn, Elizabeth Brendel, Sterchele, Alayna, Underberg-Goode, Natalie, and Schippert, Claudia (2019). Once in My Life: Behind the Scenes of an Intergenerational Theatre Production. Storytelling Self Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies 14(2): 233-254.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2019). Digital Heritage. Midwestern Folklore.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., and Smith, Peter (2018). Proceso de Lana: Playing Andean Culture through Board Games. Catalan Journal of Communication & Cultural Studies 10(2): 161-176.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2017). Digital Storytelling for Heritage Across Media. Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archives Professionals 13(2), 103-114.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2016).   Photo essay:  Archaeology and Cultural Tourism on the North Coast of Peru:  Images from a Region in Transition.  Visual Ethnography 5(2):  157-159.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., and Carolyn Hopp  (2016).  Investigating Cultural Learning in Digital Environments through PeruDigital.  Visual Ethnography 5(2): 19-34.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. and Jo Anne Adams. (2014) Multidisciplinary Exploration of Peruvian Culture through Visual Design and Website Development. Media Education Research Journal 5(1), 60-72.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2014). Cultural Heritage Tourism on Peru’s North Coast.  Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes v6 (3):  pp. 200-214.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. and Zorn, Elayne (2013).  Exploring Peruvian Culture Through Multimedia Ethnography.  Visual Anthropology v26 (1):  1-17.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. (2010).  Negotiating Puerto Rican Identity in Central Florida and Online.  CENTRO:  The Journal of the Puerto Rican Studies Association XXII(1):  117-127.
  • Underberg, Natalie M.  (2008). The Turkey Maiden Educational Computer Game.  Folklore 119, 201-217.
  • McDaniel, Rudy and Underberg, Natalie M. (2007) . Exembellishment: Using the eXtensible Markup Language as a Tool for Storytelling Research. International Digital Media Arts Journal 4(2), 56-69.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. and Congdon, Kristin. (2007). Folkvine.org: Ethnographic Storytelling in Folk Art Web Design. Visual Anthropology Review 23(2), 151-161.
  • Congdon, Kristin and Underberg, Natalie M. (2006).  Religious Inspiration in Ruby C. Williams’ Creative Practices:  Presentation and Teaching Approaches in Folkvine.org.  Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education 24, 93-103.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. (2006). Virtual and Reciprocal Ethnography on the Internet: The East Mims Oral History Project Web Site. Journal of American Folklore 119(473), 301-311.

Book Sections/Chapters

  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2016) Conveying Peruvian Intangible Heritage through Digital Environments.  In P. Davis and M. Stefano (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Intangible Cultural Heritage.  London:  Routledge.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2016) Digital Ethnography.  In H. Friese et al. (Eds.), Handbuch Soziale Praktiken und Digitale Alltagswelten.  Berlin:  Springer.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2016)  Integrating Key Cultural Ideas into Digital Media Projects:  Two Classroom-Based Case Studies.  In Belinha DeAbreu et al. (Eds.), The International Handbook of Media Literacy (pp. 260-273).  London:  Routledge.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M.  (2015)  PeruDigital: Ethnographic Storytelling through Iterative Design.  In A. Gubrium, K. Harper, and M. Otanez (Eds.), Participatory Visual and Digital Methods in Action (pp. 213-226).  Walnut Creek, CA:  Left Coast Press.
  • Underberg, Natalie M.  (2012)  Between Fact and Fiction in Cultural Heritage.  In Erik Champion (Ed.), Game Mod Theory and Practice  (pp. 51-66).  ETC (Carnegie Mellon).
  • Congdon, Kristin, Underberg, Natalie M. and VanWagenen, Sterling (2004).  Linking Generations Through Film and Foodways.  In Angela LaPorte (Ed.), Community Connections:  Intergenerational Links in Art Education (pp. 93-103).  Reston, VA:  National Art Education Association.

Conference Proceedings

  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie. Doing Design Ethnography for Digital Heritage, AMPS Proceedings Series 35.1: Prague-Heritages: Past and Present–Built and Social, June 2023, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie, and Roney, Lisa. Curating Digital Stories for a Literary Magazine: Theoretical and Pedagogical Approaches, International DST Conference: Current Trends in Digital Storytelling: Research & Practices, September 2018, Zakynthos, Greece.
  • Hill, Amanda, and Underberg-Good, Natalie. Rewind: Unpacking the Media Ecology of Today’s University Students, International DST Conference: Current Trends in Digital Storytelling: Research & Practices, September 2018, Zakynthos, Greece.
  • Kim, Si-Jung, and Underberg, Natalie M. PeruDigital: Cultural Storytelling through Digital Ethnography, HCI, and Digital Media, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) International, July 2011, Orlando, FL.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. Ethnographic Storytelling on the Internet: Folkvine.org and the East Mims Oral History Project Web Site, Bilan du Film Ethnographique seminar, March 2006, Paris, France.

Conference Papers/Presentations

  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. Counter-Histories and Counter-Mythologies: Intangible Cultural Heritage in Franchise-Based Fan Fiction. American Folklore Society convention, November 2023, Portland, Oregon.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. Parramore-Callahan Neighborhood Project. American Folklore Society convention, October 2020.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie, and Bahl, Erin K. Folklore, Ethnography, and Design. American Folklore Society convention, October 2019, Baltimore, MD.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. Participatory Research and Design in the Portal to Peru. American Folklore Society convention, October 2018, Buffalo, NY.
  • Hawthorne, Timothy, Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., & Emily Johnson. “Participatory Research and Design Network.”  HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory), November 2017, Orlando, FL (national).
  • Smith, Peter, & Natalie Underberg-Goode.  “Role-Playing Reciprocity,” DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association), July 2017, Melbourne, Australia.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M.  “Digital Heritage.” Connecting to Heritage Studies in the U.S. convention (co-sponsored by the U.S. chapter of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies), June 2017, Jonesboro, AR.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., & Peter Smith.  “Arpilleras and Ayni.”  CAA (Computer Applications in Archaeology), March 2017, Atlanta, GA.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. (2016).  Perspective and Role-Taking in Multimedia and Multisensory Ethnography, American Anthropological Association convention, November 2016, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M., Jody Norman (chair), Ross Brand, and Eric Griffiths (2016). Panel:  Preparation, Preservation, and Presentation:  Archives and Folklife Collections.  American Folklore Society convention, October 2016, Miami, FL.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. Virtual Cultural Rehearsal: Addressing Digital Humanities Concerns in the Design of Mixed-Reality Cultural Immersion Projects. NEH Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities symposium (UCLA), June 2016, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M. Conveying Intangible Heritage through Digital Environments. American Folklore Society convention, Long Beach, CA, October 14-17, 2015.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M.  PeruDigital:  Iterative Design in Cultural Heritage.  American Anthropological Association Conference, December 2014, Washington, D.C.
  • Underberg-Goode, Natalie M.  Ethnographic Storytelling and New Media, Society for Applied Anthropology Conference, March 2014, Albuquerque, NM.
  • Underberg, Natalie, Jo Anne Adams, Elayne Zorn, and Norma A. Ledesma.  Multidisciplinary Exploration of Peruvian Culture through Visual Design and Website Development, Society for Amazonian and Andean Studies, November 2010, Gainesville, FL.
  • Saverino, Joan, Bert Lyons, Nicole Saylor, and Natalie M. Underberg.  Digital Experiments, Hypermedia, and Community Participation, American Folklore Society, October 2010, Nashville, TN.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. and Elayne Zorn.  PeruVine/PeruDigital:  Multisensory Immersion in Digital Spaces.  American Anthropological Association, December 2009, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. and Elayne Zorn.  PeruVine/PeruDigital:  Collaborative Interpretation in Digital Environments, American Anthropological Association, December 2008, San Francisco, CA.
  • Underberg, Natalie M.  Lilly Carrasquillo:  Negotiating Puerto Rican Identity in Central Florida and Online, Puerto Rican Studies Association, October 2008, San Juan, PR.
  • McDaniell, Rudy, Stephen Fiore, Natalie M. Underberg, Karla Kitalong, J. Michael Moshell.  Designing Usable Games for the Humanities:  Five Research Dimensions.  Digital Humanities Conference, June 2008, Oulu, Finland.
  • Tripp, Mary, Rudy McDaniel, and Natalie M. Underberg.  The Digital Humanities Exchange as Networked Digital Archive, Conference of the Association for Teachers of Technical Writing, March 2008, San Francisco, CA.
  • Underberg, Natalie M. and Elayne Zorn.  From the Coast to the Andes to Cyberspace:  The PeruVine/PeruDigital Project,  Southeast Conference on Amazonian and Andean Studies, March 2008, Boca Raton, FL.
  • Underberg, Natalie M.  Playing Public Sector Folklorists Online, American Folklore Society convention, October 2007, Quebec, Canada.
  • Underberg, Natalie M.  The Turkey Maiden Educational Computer Game, Society for Applied Anthropology, March 2007, Tampa, FL.
  • Underberg, Natalie M.  Cinderella as Computer Game:  Folklore Meets Digital Media in the Classroom, American Folklore Society convention, March 2006, Milwaukee, WI.

Awards

  • NSCM Outstanding Contribution to Inclusive Culture award (2023)
  • Inductee, UCF Scroll & Quill Society (2020)
  • Outstanding Paper, 2015 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence, for article “Cultural Heritage Tourism on Peru’s North Coast” (selected by the editors of Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes).
  • 2007 Dorothy Howard Award, Second Place (for leadership and excellence in Folklore & Education for the Folkvine.org project; co-recipient)
  • Phi Beta Kappa (inducted 1996)
  • The Strong Research Fellowship

 

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