Stephan Caspar
Associate Teaching Professor in Media Creation and Multicultural Studies
Director of The Kenner Room
- TEP 1024
Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics
The Kenner Room
Tepper Building 1024
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Education
Post-graduate Diploma, Independent Film Production, Cardiff University (Prifysgol Caerdydd)B.A., Visual Arts and French, Middlesex University
Bio
Stephan Caspar has a background in creative media and design, beginning his career in filmmaking before transitioning into the education sector. His professional experience includes work in film production and television broadcasting, most notably as a Content Producer at the BBC. He later served as Head of Creative Arts at Fareham College in Hampshire, UK. In 2014, he joined the University of Southampton as the head of the Digital Learning Team—an award-winning group that supports researchers and educators in creating learning materials and media content, while promoting the use of emerging technologies in teaching and research.
In 2018, he relocated to the U.S. and joined the Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University as the director of The Kenner Room. In this role, he advocates for language learning and cultural exploration through immersive technologies. Alongside his academic and professional work, Caspar remains active as an artist, specializing in XR creation, immersive storytelling, and film and media production. His creative work has been featured in various publications, journals, podcasts and talks, and he is a regular contributor to The Playful Learning Conference in the UK. He also authors a weekly newsletter, The Spaces in Between, where he reflects on his practice and shares new ideas.
In March 2025, Caspar launched SONA: Immersive Storytelling Festival at CMU.
Areas of Interest
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- Immersive Media
- Storytelling
- Creative Arts
- Technology Enhanced Language Learning
- Multimodal Language Learning
Courses Taught
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- 82-284 Multicultural Pittsburgh: Exploring Language and Culture through Virtual Reality
- 82-285 Podcasting: Language and Culture through Storytelling
- 82-888 Topics in SLA: Language Learning and Technology - Digital Storytelling in French
- 82-287 Multicultural Immersion: Relating Your World in VR
- 82-288 Everyday Learning: Designing Learning Experiences in Times of Unrest and Uncertainty
- 82-265/76-207: Whispers & Echoes: Third Cinema, People Language & Culture in Documentary Storytelling
Selected Awards and Honors
- ALT Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technologies - CMALT
Selected Community, University & Professional Service
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- Director, The Kenner Room, Department of Languages, Cultures & Applied Linguistics, CMU
- Impact Committee Member, Humanities@CMU
- Member, Fulbright U.S Student Committee
Selected Publications
- Caspar, S., Whitton, P. & Whitton, N., (2021) “A framework for re-imagining video in Higher Education using playfulness”, The Journal of Play in Adulthood 3(2), 131-147. doi: https://doi.org/10.5920/jpa.858
- Caspar, S. (2021). Learning in Virtual Spaces. #DLFteach Publications. https://doi.org/10.21428/65a6243c.2ffbb196
- Caspar, S. (2021). Insider spaces. CALICO Journal, 38(1), 128–150. https://doi.org/10.1558/cj.41528
- Caspar, Stephan. (2021). Exploring the pandemic through language learning and multicultural studies. In Plutino, Alessia; Polisca, Elena (Eds), Languages at work, competent multilinguals and the pedagogical challenges of COVID-19 (pp. 113-118). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2021.49.1225