[Metalab] [Potsdam, 8-10.5.] Philosophy of Computer Games 2008 - CfP

[Peter Kuhm]

[ via rohrpost@

-> http://www.gamephilosophy.org

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THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMPUTER GAMES
CONFERENCE
IN POTSDAM MAY 8-10, 2008

Call for Papers

The Philosophy of Computer Games Conference 2008

We hereby invite scholars in any field who take a professional interest in
the phenomenon of computer games to submit  papers to the international
conference "The Philosophy of Computer Games  2008", to be held in Potsdam,
Germany, on May 8-10, 2008.

Accepted papers will have a clear focus on philosophy and philosophical issues
in relation to computer games. They will also attempt to use specific examples
rather than merely invoke "computer games" in general terms. We invite
submissions focusing on, but not limited to, the following three headings:

Action|Space

Papers submitted under this heading should address issues relating to the
experiential, interactional and cognitive dimensions of computer game play.
What is the nature of perceptual experience in game  space? How should we
understand the relationship between action, interaction  and space in computer
game environments? How should we think about players' aesthetic, emotive
and(/or) rational responses to what goes on inside the  game space?

Ethics / Politics

What are the ethical responsibilities of game-makers in exerting influence on
individual gamers and society in general? What role, if any, can games serve as
a critical cultural corrective in relation to traditional forms of media and
communicative practices, for example in economy and politics? Also: what is the
nature of the ethical norms that apply within the gaming context, and what are
the factors that allow or delimit philosophical justifications of their
application there or elsewhere?

The Magic Circle

Terms such as "fictionality", "virtuality", "simulation" or "representation" 
are often used to indicate specific functions of objects in games. But what is 
the nature of the phenomena these terms refer to in the interactive field of game
play? And what is the  structure of gaming-processes? What is the mediality of
digital games? We are  especially interested in discussions that aim at how the
notion of a self-contained "magic circle" – representing an imagined border
between play and reality, or the internal and external limits of game-programs –
is being  challenged by forms of individual action and social inter action which
tend to transcend such limits.


Your paper should not exceed 25 000 characters (excluding blanks) and
be accompanied by an abstract of 300 words. Please specify the primary
focus (topic) of your submission.

Deadline for submissions is February 15, 2008. Send your paper and abstract
to _submissions at gamephilosophy.org_ (mailto:submissions at gamephilosophy.org) .

All submitted papers will be subject to double blind peer review, and the
program committee will make a final selection of papers for the conference on
the basis of this.

Notification of accepted papers will be sent out by March 12,  2008.

------
Dieter Mersch
Olav Asheim
Patrick Coppock
Espen  Aarseth

The conference is a collaboration between the following institutions:

• Institute for Arts and Media, European Media Studies at the University of
  Potsdam, Germany
• Department of Philosophy, Classics,  History of Art and Ideas at the
  University of Oslo, Norway
• Department of  Social, Cognitive and Quantitative Science at the University
  of Modena &  Reggio Emilia, Italy
• Center for Computer Games Research at the  IT-University of Copenhagen,
  Denmark
• Philosophical Project Centre (FPS),  Oslo, Norway

For more information, visit http://www.gamephilosophy.org

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