Jason Farman is a professor of American Studies and Associate Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, College Park. An internationally recognized scholar on technology, design, and media culture, he is the award-winning author of Delayed Response: The Art of Waiting from the Ancient to the Instant World, which was supported by an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology. His earlier book, Mobile Interface Theory: Embodied Space and Locative Media, won the 2012 Book of the Year Award from the Association of Internet Researchers and continues to shape research in digital culture and design. His upcoming book examines how consumer desire has been systematically engineered through design, shaping our culture of disposability.
A sought-after voice on the impact of technology and design, Farman’s expertise has been featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, NPR, and 99% Invisible, among others. His writing and research uncover how digital media, industrial design, and consumer culture shape human experience—often in ways we barely notice. As a faculty member of the Immersive Media Design Program and the Human-Computer Interaction Lab, he bridges historical inquiry with emerging technologies, exploring how the design of everyday objects influences not just our behaviors but our values and expectations.
Beyond academia, Farman is a public intellectual dedicated to reshaping conversations on technology and culture. He has advised on digital infrastructure, taught workshops on design and innovation, and collaborated with organizations shaping the future of media and user experience. His leadership in higher education includes directing the Design Cultures & Creativity program and serving as a Faculty Associate with Harvard University’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
Through his writing, research, and public engagement, Farman challenges us to rethink our relationship with the technologies we use daily—how they shape our sense of time, agency, and identity in an era of endless upgrades.