Daniel O. Fandino

Blog

Popular culture is a potent force. As a carrier of culture, as a contested realm, as a source of personal and national identity, and a tool of cultural dominance, popular culture is an inescapable dynamic engine that has the capacity to deeply influence societies. To create understandable background lore and synthetic worlds, popular culture often draws upon the real (and imagined) past. This malleable vision of the past is a palimpsest that popular culture inscribes itself upon, rewriting, redacting, and retconning that-what-was to suit the demands of a story.

History fills many roles in this negotation between the real and fictional: as shorthard to introduce concepts that would take too long to expand upon, as a superhot furnace of nostalgia, a force to push against, and as a vocabulary to define the new and exotic. In these strange new worlds, history itself becomes redefined and reimagined. I explore these processes and the usually precarious intersection of history and popular culture (and technology too!) at Journeytothewiredwest.com

Curriculum Vitae

Education

• PhD in History, Michigan State University
Fields: U.S. History, East Asian History, Digital History
Committee: Julian Chambliss, Sharon Leon, Dean Rehberger (chair), Ethan Segal
• M.A. in History, University of Central Florida
• B.A. in International Relations, Florida International University

Career

• Coordinator, Digital Exploration Center and Assistant Librarian, University of Central Florida, October 2025 - present

Certificates

• Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate, Michigan State University
• Graduate Certificate in American Studies, Michigan State University

Publications

• Daniel O. Fandino and Cody Mejeur, eds., Into the Fog: Essays on Dead by Daylight, under contract with McFarland, forthcoming 2027
• Daniel O. Fandino and Harper Norris, “The Digital Exploration Center at the University of Florida Libraries: A Case Study,” forthcoming in Katy Webb, Development of Creative Spaces in Academic Libraries: A Decisionmaker’s Guide, 2nd edition, expected publication 2027
• Ashley Cerku, Daniel Fandino, Aubree Marshall, and Gillian Macdonald, “Bringing DH into the Classroom: Best Practices, Tips, and Tricks,” Proceedings of the H-Net Teaching Conference, 2025
• "Remembering Fictional History and Virtual War in EVE Online" in Kathryn N. McDaniel, ed., Virtual Dark Tourism: Ghost Roads (Cham: Springer, 2018)
• Julian Chambliss, Bill Svitavsky, and Daniel Fandino, eds., Assembling the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Essays on the Social, Cultural and Geopolitical Domains (Jefferson: McFarland, 2018)
• "Ultima" in Robert Mejia, Jaime Banks, and Aubrie Adams, eds., 100 Greatest Video Game Franchises (Lanham. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017)
• Multiple entries in Salvador Murguia, ed., The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016)

Selected Presentations

• “Rocket Parks: The Space Age in the American Backyard,” accepted for the 2026 Florida Digital Humanities Consortium (FLDH) conference, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, October 2026.
• “Samurai and Sorcerers: The Influence of Anime and Manga on Comic Books and Role-Playing Games in America,” presented at the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies x Anime Expo (JAMS@AX) Academic Symposium, Los Angeles, CA., July 2026
• Ashley Cerku, Daniel Fandino, Gillian Macdonald, and Aubrey Marshall, “The Perils and Promise of Teaching with Digital Tools,” presented online at the 2024 H-Net Teaching Conference, 2024
• “Japanese History and American Fantasy”: Education, Adventure, and the Making of a Cool Japan through James Clavell's Shōgun, presented at the Popular Culture & American Culture Association Conference, Chicago, IL, 2024
• “The Travels of Lady Nijo: Pilgrimage and Tourism Across 13th and 14th Century Japan” presented at the Global Digital Humanities Symposium, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 2024
• "Reflections in a Mirrored Helmet: Wolverine, the Silver Samurai, and the American Image of Japan" presented at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Comics Studies Society, July 25-27 2019, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada
• "'Imagine Strange Things': Durham Stevens and American Opinion Towards Japan and Korea, 1894 to 1908" presented at the 67th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, October 19-20 2018, Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• “American Agents, Japanese Ambitions, Korean Ambiguities,” presented at the 4th Annual Asian Forum, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2018
• “Looking for Group: Building Interdisciplinary Game Studies Communities,” roundtable participant, at Meaningful Play, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 2018
• “Virtual Spaces, Augmented Places,” presented at Mechademia, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2016. (Online presentation)
• “Exploring a Virtual Past: History and Massively Multiplayer Online Games,” presented at the 2nd International Conference on Popular Culture and Education, Hong Kong, SAR, 2011
• “No Future: Visions of China in American Science Fiction Film and Television since 1950,” presented at the World History Association Conference, Beijing, China, 2011

Digital Projects

• The Voyages of Commodore Perry: Commerce, Coal, and the Opening of Japan
• The Travels of Lady Nijo: Women, Pilgrimage, and Networks Across 13th and 14th Century Japan
• Animal Astronauts: Boldly Going Where No Human Has Gone Before

Fellowships

• Cultural Heritage Informatics Senior Fellow, Michigan State University, August 2018 - May 2019 & August 2019 - May 2020
The CHI Graduate Fellowship is an interdisciplinary program that equips graduate students with the skills to thoughtfully apply digital methods and computational approaches in the domain of cultural heritage in an environment of openness and collaboration.
• Cultural Heritage Informatics Fellow, Michigan State University, August 2016 - May 2017

Selected Reviews

• Cold War Deceptions: The Asia Foundation and the CIA by David Price for H-War (forthcoming 2026)
• Hikikomori: Adolescence Without End by Saito Tamaki in The Middle Ground Journal: History and Global Studies
• Manga in America: Transnational Book Publishing and the Domestication of Japanese Comics by Casey Brienza in Studies in American Culture
• "Tokyo's Sporting Diplomacy,” by Jessamyn R. Abel in Olympika: the International Journal of Olympic Studies
• Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-Shek and the Struggle for Modern China by Jay Taylor in ERAS

Selected Exhibitions

• Julian Chambliss and Daniel Fandino, curators. "Justice for All: Social Justice in Comics," MSU Residental College of Arts and Humanites (2018), https://rcahlookoutcomics.wordpress.com/

Teaching

• Digital Tools for Historians, graduate course, University of Central Florida, Spring 2027 (scheduled)
• Gender, Race, and Global Identities, Michigan State University, 2023
• Global Digital Cultures, Michigan State University, 2023
• Global Digital Cultures, Michigan State University, 2022
• History of the Digital Age, Michigan State University, 2022
• Global Digital Cultures, Michigan State University, 2021
• History of the Digital Age, Michigan State University, 2020
• U.S. History 1877 - Present, University of Central Florida

Graduate Teaching Assistant Courses

• Graduate Assistant, Lab for the Education and Advancement in Digital Research (LEADR) 2016-2017, 2018-2023, Michigan State University
Taught digital tools and methods to History and Anthropology courses, including The Civil War Era, Young American Republic, and American Indian Women. Provided support to faculty incorporating student led digital projects into their curriculum. Led workshops on photogrammetry, 360 imaging, 3D printing, and other digital tools and methods. Developed teaching guides and video tutorials for Omeka, Github, and other tools. Learned the fundamentals of digital lab administration and operation.
• The U.S. and the World
• U.S. History 1877 - Present
• U.S. Business and Economic History
• Modern East Asia
• Asia and the World
• Latin America and the World
• History of Michigan
• War and Revolution
• Asia Social Science Perspectives

Awards and Funding

• Dr. Kwan-Wai So Memorial Scholarship Fund in History, Department of History, Michigan State University, 2024
• 2023 Michigan State University College of Social Sciences Dissertation Completion Grant
• LEADR Digital Teaching Fellowship, Michigan State University, 2023
• 2020 Virtual Summer Institute: Data Visualization with Digital Learning Technology, MSU Graduate School, Stipend awarded
• DH@MSU Summer Program Funding, 2020
• Michigan State University College of Arts and Letters Digital Seed Grant, 2018
• National Endowment for the Humanities, “Tokyo: High City and Low City,” Summer Institute for College and University Teachers, Florida International University, 2016

Service

• University of Central Florida Graduate Council Program Review and Awards Committee
• University of Central Florida Libraries Digital Projects Steering Committee
• Florida Association of College and Research Libraries (FACRL) Scholarship committee, 2026 - 2028
• MSU Library THATcamp planning committee, February and August 2023
• Michigan State University Library Digital Scholarship Lab Advisory Board, 2020 – 2021
• Michigan State University Digital Humanities Curriculum Committee, 2018 – 2021
• H-Net Executive Council Member (https://networks.h-net.org/), 2014 – 2021
• Michigan State University Game Studies Guild organizer, 2018-2020
• H-Net Editor, H-PCAACA and H-Digital History, 2012 – 2022

Digital Skills and Tools

• Programming and Markup Languages
• Content Management
• Project and Research Managment
• Data Analysis and Visualization
• Photogrammetry
• Agisoft Metashape
• Omeka
• Scalar
• GitHub
• Leaflet JS



CV

Download complete CV as a pdf

About

Daniel O. Fandino is a historian of the United States, Japan, and the digital and is the Coordinator of the Digital Exploration Center at the University of Central Florida. He earned his PhD at Michigan State University, where his dissertation delved into the labyrinthian worlds of tabletop role-playing games, comics, and computer games in the 1970s to trace the influence of Japan on developing American fandoms and subcultures during an era of increasingly difficult economic and political tensions between the U.S. and Japan. His digital work explores travel and movement in Japan and the United States through a public history approach. As a graduate student at MSU, Daniel completed the Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities and the American Studies Certificate and was a senior Cultural Heritage Informatics fellow. He has taught courses as an instructor on the History of the Digital Age and Global Digital Cultures, and was a research assistant for the Lab for Education and Advancement of Digital Research (LEADR). He also maintains an interest in game studies.

Wired History takes its name from the breakthrough 1998 Japanese anime Serial Experiments Lain (シリアルエクスペリメンツレイン) where the Wired (ワイヤード) is a worldwide virtual reality network that encompasses all forms of communications from the internet to radio to television.

Contact // Connect

• GitHub
• LinkedIn

Site information

Photographs and screenshots on this site were taken by the author unless otherwise attributed.

Digital Projects

The Voyage of Commodore Perry: Commerce, Coal, and the Opening of Japan

Commodore Perry’s expedition to Japan marked the beginning of the U.S. - Japan relationship. While Perry’s visit to Japan is well known, the expedition was also one of exploration and the emergence of the United States as a Pacific power. The project aims to examine how Perry’s voyage contributed to a developing understanding of the world by Americans as the United States sought to realize its place in global affairs. It connects the Perry Expedition to the history of exploration by the United States military and the inherent tensions involved between military prerogatives, diplomatic desires, and scientific and cultural investigations.

Into the Fog: Essays on Dead by Daylight

Dead by Daylight (DBD) is an asymmetric four versus one online horror game where a team of survivors must work together to escape from a brutal killer, developed and published by Behavior Interactive. From its debut in 2016 the game has risen to become one of the most popular horror gaming experiences. As a live-service game with frequent updates, the game has developed a notable community following with prominent streamers, content creators, and popular memes. The game is also known for its frequent collaborations with classic and emerging horror franchises. Into the Fog: Essays on Dead by Daylight is an academic exploration of DBD's distinct brand of horror, under contract with McFarland.
Book site: Into the Fog: Essays on Dead by Daylight

Into the Fog: Essays on Dead by Daylight

Animal Astronauts: Boldly Going Where No Human Has Gone Before

Resources

A collection of resources for teaching and digital work. Links open in a new window.

For faster reference and searching, this information is also compiled in a Google Sheet:

Teaching Resources

From Peru to Cebu: Teaching Mapping with Enya's Orinoco Flow

Digital Resources

Mobygratis // mobygratis.com
A collection of free instrumental music by the recording artist Moby for non-commercial purposes. For commercial or monetized use, a commercial license is required. Read the site FAQs!

BBC Sound Effects // sound-effects.bbcrewind.co.uk/
A sound effects library for non-commercial, personal or research purposes or for formal education purposes by students.

Elements

i = 0;

while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
    print 'Iteration ' + i;
    deck.shuffle();
    i++;
}

print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';