Videogaming and Cultural Values
2nd Annual Summer Graduate Workshop
July 27 and 28 2023, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time (GMT +4)
Zoom
The International Academy for the Study of Gaming and Religion hosts the second annual summer graduate school workshop. Exclusively for early-stage researchers and doctoral students, the conference welcomes research on media-centered approaches, perspectives of game developers and publishers, and viewpoints of gamers. The workshop provides a unique opportunity for participants to engage in discussions and debates about theoretical approaches for studying the intersection of religion, culture, and video gaming. The workshop is held online and provides a collaborative environment for scholars at all stages to learn together and expand and deepen the field of study.Conference Organizers: Gregory Grieve (gpgrieve@uncg.edu) and John Borchert(jwborchert@uncg.edu), UNCG’s Network for the Cultural Study of Videogaming.
You can join the workshop via Zoom.
Schedule At-a-Glance Thursday, July 27
10:00-10:15 Huizinga Room
Welcome and Tutorial — Greg Grieve and John Borchert
10:15-11:00
Session 1: Huizinga Room — Ziran Zhao: “Being prescribed to perform romantic? Game platform as a place for romantic relationship practice.”
Session 2: Nelson Room — Tara Smith: “Blood for the Blood God!” – Engaging with Gods and Religion in the Warhammer 40K Universe
11:00-11:45
Session 3:Huizinga Room — Sophia Rosenberg: “Blessed Are The Geek: Christian Gaming Content Creators and Digital Discipleship.”
Session 4: Nelson Room — Leonid Moyzhes: “Exorcism of the Cyborgs: The Possibility for (Re-) enchanting Narratives in Cyberpunk Role-Playing Games.”
12:00-14:00 Huizinga Room
gamevironments Board Meeting [closed]
14:00-14:45
Session 5: Huizinga Room —AJ Swieringa: “Pious Players and Digital Divines: Divine Embodiment in God of War.”
Session 6: Nelson Room— Jieyu (Warren) Liu: “When We ‘Trailblaze’ The Universe: How HoYoverse Approaches the Western Players Through Occidentalizing Its Games.”
Schedule At-a-Glance Friday, July 28
10:00-10:15 Huizinga Room
Welcome to Day Two — Greg Grieve
10:15-11:00
Session 7: Huizinga Room — Ed Watson: “Fear the Old Blood’: Bloodborne, Christian Concepts of Communion, and Cultural Critique”
Session 8: Nelson Room— Emma Sundström: “Fanatical Alien Monsters: Halo and Religion in Fan-Forum Discourse”
11:00-11:45
Session 9: Huizinga Room — Evan Moore: “The Use of Quest Design and Experimentation for Teaching.”
12:00-13:00 Lunch and Valheim Break
13:00- 14:00
Session 10: Huizinga Room — Simone Baldetti: “Religious Gameplay”. How religious laws make games”
Session 11: Nelson Room — Ethan Divon: “Expanding Classics: Comparative World Mythology and its Reception in Gaming”
14:00-14:45 Retreat to move forward