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Scifi Diner Podcast 398 – Our Zenkaikon Interview with Anime Anthropologist Charles Dunbar
Charles Dunbar is graduate of Hunter College, CUNY, where he received a BA in Religion and Anthropology and an MA in Cultural Anthropology. His thesis, Pilgrimage, Pageantry and Fan Communities was published in 2011 and focused on anime convention participation, including spending habits, cosplay, demographics, communal behaviour and convention culture.
Charles has previously given talks before the Joseph Campbell Foundation, has worked in the music industry as an A&R talent scout and promoter, excavated a Roman Villa in the United Kingdom, studied Irish Literature at Trinity College in Dublin, acted as a teacher and mentor for at-risk students in a charter school, shipped books for a comic shop and had his own weekly radio show for 5 years.
These days you can usually find him at a Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts, working diligently on whatever project is currently occupying his time, or traveling the roads of the East Coast to various anime conventions. In addition to his own site, he also has written for the websites Insert Disc and Real Otaku Gamer.
He can be reached at charles@studyofanime.com
Some random facts:
-Charles is an audiophile, with over 2000 albums in his collection.
-He loves military history (especially sarcastic military history) and urban exploration.
-Loves watching the sun rise, despite not being a morning person.
-Charles’ favorite animated show of all time is “King of the Hill.”
Charles’ favorite anime are:
BECK Mongolian Chop Squad
Cowboy Bebop
Hell Girl
His favorite manga are:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Chobits
Rurouni Kenshin
His favorite games are:
Persona 3
Final Fantasy IX
Chrono Trigger