Gameology 2.0

UPDATE: Online Gaming and Society (grad) (2/12/05; (dis)junctions, 4/8/05-4/9/05)

Submission deadline extended to February 12, 2005.

(dis)junctions: theory reloaded (april 8-9, 2005) Online Gaming: (re)Constructing Gamer (sub)Culture

This call for papers is for a proposed panel to be held at (dis)junctions: theory reloaded at the University of California Riverside's 12th Annual Humanities Graduate Conference on April 8-9, 2005.

The relatively recent proliferation of readily accessible network and online components to videogames has added an entirely new dimension to the electronic gaming medium. Contributors are invited to submit papers investigating some aspect of the social implications and/or ramifications of online gaming upon gamer culture and gamers themselves.

Potential topics include, but certainly are not limited to:

• Issues of maintaining and/or constructing identity through

  the gamer's avatar (online persona), especially in regard to

  MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games)

• Behavior, etiquette, and social interaction via online games

• Competition and Aggression, especially in regards to

  military and FPS (First Person Shooter) games

• Influence of human opponents/allies (rather than

  traditional AI characters) in the videogame's status as an

  ergodic text(one which actively resists the unpacking of the

  text)

• The notion of celebrity within gamer culture/subculture(s)

One page abstracts should be e-mailed to jjcondon_at_hotmail.com by February 12, 2005 (text in the body of the message; please no attachments). The submissions should be no longer than 250 words.

Proposals sent via snail mail should be sent to:

(dis)junctions

UCR's Twelfth Annual Humanities Graduate Conference

Department of English

UC Riverside

Riverside, CA 92521-0323

For more information on the conference, please visit:

http://english.ucr.edu/gsea/disjunctions/