[Air-L] Extended Deadline CfP (June 30) - Conference "Beyond Play" (30.09. - 02.10.2024 / Bremen)
Lisa Kienzl
kienzl.lisa at gmail.com
Tue Jun 18 01:45:38 PDT 2024
Dear colleagues,
below you find the CfP for the Conference "Beyond Play: The Transformative
Power of Digital Gaming in a Deeply Mediatized Society" (30 Sept - 2 Oct
2024) at the University of Bremen. The submission deadline for papers,
pre-arranged panels, roundtables, posters got extended until June 30.
Best wishes,
Lisa
======================================================
Call for Paper
Beyond Play: The Transformative Power of Digital Gaming in a Deeply
Mediatized Society
(30.09. - 02.10.2024)
International conference at the University of Bremen, Germany
https://beyondplay2024.org
======================================================
Digital Games and gaming are carriers, accelerators and subjects of change
in media culture and society. In this capacity they serve as an interlink
between media industries, digital technologies, media cultures, and social
practices, making them ideal cases to analyze contemporary transformation
processes in the context of (deep) mediatization, digitalization, and
datafication.
This conference call hence builds on the premise that to understand the
significance of digital games and gaming in a deeply mediatized society we
need to look beyond play, i.e., the contents of games and the interaction
with games alone. We call to go beyond reducing games to mere playing,
examining their placement and connection within digital media environments
as gamevironments to research how our communicative practices and their
contexts transform through games, as well as how these games are reshaped
through communicative practices. A perspective that goes beyond play
indicates that researching games and gaming also allows for insights into
the deepening of the mediatization and datafication of society.
It is quite obvious to consider digital gaming a central aspect of the
spread of digitalization in virtually all areas of social life: Computer
and console games, as well as mobile games, are now an integral part of
deeply mediatized lifeworlds across generations. They have become one of
the dominant sectors in the media industry in terms of economic relevance
and ubiquity. Games and gaming have been catalysts for the emergence of
unique media cultures, playing a crucial role in mediatized everyday
culture for
several generations of players. Game development has become
well-established and professionalized, fostering innovative forms of media
expression, communication contexts, and peripheral media (e.g., video game
journalism, game streaming, fan-fiction, modding). Additionally, under the
concept of gamification, principles of gaming and playful elements are
increasingly transferred to non-gaming contexts (e.g., health prevention,
educational settings). This positions computer games and gaming as a
comprehensive subject of research in communication and media studies as
well as an indicator for transformation processes in media, culture and
society that extend the scope of gaming.
======================================================
We invite submissions that explore the transformative power of digital
gaming in deeply mediatized society, how gaming shapes mediatization,
digitalization and datafication of society and how games and gaming are
conversely shaped by the same processes. We invite conceptual, theoretical
and methodological contributions as well as empirical studies from all
disciplines. Topics to be addressed include but are not limited to
-
The transformative power of digital gaming for the proliferation and
diffusion of new digital technologies, devices and imaginaries
-
The transformative power of digital gaming for representation, inclusion
and the negotiation as well as transformation of social norms and values
-
The transformative power of digital gaming for media and communication
environments around playing and beyond (e.g., games journalism, game
streaming, Let’s plays, reviews and walkthroughs; gamification and language
use in non-gaming settings; serious games)
-
The transformative power of digital gaming for individual and
collaborative communicative practices and experiences (e.g., informal
learning, co-creation, modding,etc.)
-
The transformative power of digital gaming in the context of the media
manifold (e.g., transmedia storytelling, franchises across multiple
platforms and multiple media formats)
-
Conceptual and methodological challenges and innovations for researching
the transformative power of digital gaming in deeply mediatized societies
-
The impact of digitalization and datafication on digital games and gaming
-
The transformative power at play in the gaming (related) industries
-
The transformative power at play in the academic, ethical, and
regulatory evaluation of gaming
======================================================
Formats: papers, pre-arranged panels, roundtables
This conference welcomes contributions in various formats:
-
Papers: Normally the paper presenters can expect to have approx. 15
minutes for the presentation and 5-10 minutes for discussion.
-
Closed panels (120 minutes): we encourage pre-arranged panels. These
panels will have 3-4 papers per panel session and probably a critical
response. Normally the paper presenters can expect to have approx. 15
minutes for the presentation and 5-10 minutes for discussion.
-
Roundtables (120 minutes): these are pre-arranged sessions where a group
of scholars (usually no more than five) discusses themes/issues of general
scholarly interest in front of (and subsequently with) an audience for
the duration of a single session. The roundtables should address a topic
from an interdisciplinary perspective. While a roundtable can include short
(5 minutes) contributions, the aim is to create a lively debate rather than
focus on any one presenter.
-
Poster format: There will be also the possibility to present your work
in form of a poster. These posters will be accessible throughout the whole
conference and there will a time slot where everybody can present his/her
poster.
In addition, we are in the middle of organizing the possibility to play the
games analyzed and discussed during the conference in a gaming studio which
will be accessible throughout the conference.
======================================================
Submission Deadline
Abstracts (350-500 words) for all formats should be submitted by email as
an anonymized pdf-file no later than 30.06.2024 to
beyondplay2024 at uni-bremen.de. An additional file should include title, four
to six keywords, name of author(s), institutional affiliation, and contact
details for each author. All submissions will undergo double blind peer
review. Authors will be notified of proposal acceptance/rejection until 14
.07.2024.
======================================================
The event is hosted by the Centre for Media, Communication and Information
Research ZeMKI (https://zemki.uni-bremen.de/en/) at the University of
Bremen in Germany and supported by the ECREA Digital Games Research Section
(https://ecrea.eu/Digital-Games-Research/) and the International Academy
for the Study of Gaming and Religion - IASGAR (https://iasgar.uni-bremen.de)
.
Additionally, IASGAR is hosting its annual IASGAR Research Day as
pre-conference workshop on September 28th in a hybrid form – at site at the
University of Bremen, Germany, and online. Exclusively for early-stage
researchers, graduate students and doctoral students, the workshop welcomes
research on media-centered approaches, perspectives of game developers and
publishers, and viewpoints of gamers. Further information:
https://iasgar.uni-bremen.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IASGAR_Call_For_Applications_2024.pdf
.
Further information: https://beyondplay2024.org and
http://beyondplay2024.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CfP_Beyond_Play_2024.pdf
.
--
Dr. Dr. Lisa Kienzl
(sie/ihr | she/her)
Literaturen und Medien der Religion | Lab "Media and Religion"
https://zemki.uni-bremen.de/en/lab-medien-und-religion/lab-media-and-religion/
Zentrum für Medien-, Kommunikations- & Informationsforschung (ZeMKI)
Institut für Religionswissenschaft und -pädagogik
Universität Bremen
** Conference "Beyond Play: The Transformative Power of Digital Gaming
in a Deeply Mediatized Society **
30 Sept - 2 Oct 2024https://beyondplay2024.org
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