Kenzell Huggins is a PhD Candidate in Anthropology at the University of Chicago. His dissertation examines the production of film and television in Singapore. The project explores the values attached to developing film and television production in a place historically perceived to be at the peripheries of global media production. These issues are analyzed through the conceptual lens of animation, understanding media production as the semiotic construction of life. Kenzell’s second project expands these same topics to gaming in Singapore, examining the place of play in a country known for pragmatism and efficiency. Kenzell’s methodological interests include collaborative and virtual ethnography, and he has worked on topics including community-engaged ecological projects and commercial logistics through collaborative work.

Kenzell holds an B.A. from the University of Notre Dame in Anthropology. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.