W.E. King

Assistant Teaching Professor

mxwe@uw.edu

Mary Gates Hall 330B

Specializations

Gender and Technology
Artificial Intelligence and Religion
Digital Media and Society

Research Areas

Courses

INFO 200 - Intellectual Foundations Of Informatics

Biography

Dr. Wes Eli King teaches core informatics courses to undergraduates in the University of Washington Information School. They have been at the UW since 2013, starting as a graduate student and now as faculty. Dr. Wes brings over 20 years of technical writing and technical training experience to the classroom and offers a critical informatics lens for students to adopt as they develop their career goals and imagine the future of information. They are passionate about teaching and enjoy designing collaborative, peer-based learning environments.

As an activist-researcher, Dr. Wes locates their research at the intersection of technology, religion, and gender. They completed their dissertation entitled, A Match Made in Heaven: Queer Christians and Dating Apps, at the UW iSchool in 2021 and teach a Special Topics in Informatics course on internet dating and the future of relationships. Dr. Wes has also developed a Special Topics in Informatics course on AI, robots, and transcending religion that brings together their research and teaching with their interest in science fiction and imagining futures.

Education

Ph D, Information Science, University of Washington, 2021
MS, Information Science , University of Washington, 2019
MA, International Studies: Comparative Religion, University of Washington, 2015
MA, Ministry Leadership, Portland Seminary, 2011
BA, Organizational and Interpersonal Communication Concentration in Psychology and Computer Science, Ohio State University, 1986

Awards

Dissertation Fellowship - Louisville Institute, 2020-2021
Joan W. Welk Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Comparative Religion, 2014-2015
Best Paper in Ethical Challenges Accompanying Digital and Social Media Mini-Track (Nominated) - Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 2015

Memberships

Society for the Social Studies of Science
Association of Internet Researchers
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion

Publications and Contributions

Conference Paper

Search Me, O [Algorithm] and Know my Heart: Queer Faith in Dating Apps (2024)
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, pp. 2370-2379, ISBN/ISSN: 2572-6862 Author: W.E. King
Instructor's Manual

Research Methods for Informatics Undergraduate Students: A Lab Workbook (2023)
Authors: Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Jesse Brisbois, Julie Emory, W.E. King, Kunsang Choden Lama, Claire Indermaur McDonald, Nataliya Muzyka, Punya Prakash Shetty, Turam Purty, Aditya Singh, Zening Qu
Conference Paper

AI and the Unsullied Self (2021)
Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) Authors: W.E. King, Os Keyes
Conference Paper

Librarian perspectives on the role of virtual reality in public libraries (2020)
83rd Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T '20) Authors: Jin Ha Lee, Kung Jin Lee, W.E. King, Negin Dahya
Journal Article, Academic Journal

Perceptions and experiences of Virtual Reality in public libraries (2020)
Journal of Documentation Authors: Jin Ha Lee, Negin Dahya, W.E. King, Kung Jin Lee
Journal Article, Academic Journal

Politics of Race, Gender, and Visual Representation in Feminist Media Education (2020)
Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(5), pp. 673–690, ISBN/ISSN: 0159-6306 Authors: W.E. King, Negin Dahya
Conference Poster

Virtual Reality in Washington State Libraries (2018)
Connected Learning Summit 2018 Authors: Negin Dahya, Kung Jin Lee, W.E. King, Jin Ha Lee
Conference Paper

'Almost,' 'more than,' or 'truly' human?: Examining Sci-Fi TV through the lenses of digital and theological anthropologies (2015)
Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Science, pp. 1734-1741 Author: W.E. King
Book, Non-Scholarly-New

Facing “The Talk”: Conversations with my four daughters about sex (2015)
Author: W.E. King
Book, Chapter in Scholarly Book-New

Feminist perspectives and mobile culture(s): power and participation in girls' digital video making communities
Feminist Interventions in Participatory Media: Pedagogy, Publics, Practice Authors: Negin Dahya, W.E. King

Presentations

Designing Group Work that Reflects the Needs of International Learners (2025)
Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Alternative Grading (Reflection and Practice Series) (2024)
Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Conversation: UW “Policy” on Participation and Attendance (2024)
Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Faith in AI (2024)
Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Fostering Connections in Youth Mental Health and Well Being (2024)
Population Health Initiative, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
From Cyborg Despair to AI Romance: Evolving Relationships and Personhood in Blade Runner 2049 (2024)
Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) - Amsterdam, Netherlands
Globally-engaged Teaching (2024)
Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Informatics Mock Lecture (2024)
UW Admitted Student Day, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
What is Two-Spirit and Trans Justice? (2024)
Equity Across the Curriculum (EAC) Initiative, University of Washington - Bothell, WA
A Match Made in Heaven: Queer Christians & Dating Apps (2022)
Annual meeting of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) - Dublin, Ireland
AI, Cyborgs, Robots and Religion I & II (2022)
Annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) - Cholula, Mexico (Virtual)
Digital Literacy, Information, and Technology in Social Sciences (2022)
Exploring Majors in the Social Sciences, University of Washington - Seattle, WA
Information Ecologies that Promote Radical Belonging for Christians with Diverse Gender, Sexual, and Relationship Identities and Practices (2022)
Annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) - Baltimore, MD
Librarian Perspectives on the Role of Virtual Reality in Public Libraries (2020)
2020 ASIS&T Virtual Annual Meeting - Virtual