Kathryn Webb-DeStefano

About

My teaching interrogates the ways in which engineers can cultivate an understanding of the self in relation to the technologies they shape and the future they envision. I accomplish this primarily through the use of fantasy tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) to simulate engineering ethics case studies in a controlled environment.

I hold a PhD from The University of Virginia in English literature with an emphasis on transnationally informed Irish literature. And while James Joyce and W.B. Yeats might seem worlds away from X and the algorithm, the field of consciousness studies forms a connective tissue between them. My forthcoming book, Transnational Aesthetics, Self-Transcendence, and Disability in Late Nineteenth-Century to Modernist Literature: Hans Christian Andersen, Lafcadio Hearn, and James Joyce draws from a number of new theoretical frameworks including medical humanities, consciousness studies, and disability studies, to explore different modes of sensory experiencing which endows the literature of my three authors with a self-transcendent transnational perspective.

Central to my research and teaching is the importance of meaning-making and the power of the imagination. In my teaching, I explore these themes through the lens of literature and popular culture (particularly fantasy and science fiction narratives). I structure my ethics syllabi around personal reflection, literature, and fantasy tabletop roleplaying games as a medium for inspiring ethical inquiry and awakening the moral imagination. 

My use of TTRPGs in the classroom encourages students to develop skills of deep-listening, dialogue, and presence all while engaging in values-driven discourse surrounding fictional technologies. We follow each game with a week of debrief in which we unpack the ethical scenarios they faced in the games by discussing “real world” corollaries such as artificial intelligence, CRISPR, bioethics, or atomic warfare. Deliberately low-tech, I prioritize handwritten reflection and experiential learning. Fantasy TTRPGs, particularly in a low-tech setting, allow students to connect with each other and myself on an interpersonal level, as well offering a means of working through complex ethical dilemmas in a safe, creative, and collaborative environment. 

For more on my educational philosophy and use of TTRPGs in the classroom please visit my website.