Critical Function Workshop on October 21

The second Critical Function workshop of the Fall semester will be on Monday, October 21 in Innis 223E from 1-3pm to discuss an article manuscript by CSI PhD candidate Andy Lee titled “Invisible Bodies in Virtual Space: Playing Counter-Strike with Merleau-Ponty.” 

The paper considers videogames as a productive site of inquiry into the ways real-time computational systems processes, which operate below the phenomenological threshold, might still operate on human bodies in ways that can be felt and articulated. Using the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and a plethora of recent media scholarship, the paper develops a general theory of videogame embodiment that suggests that videogame players do not apprehend of their virtual body only, or even primarily, through visual feedback. The paper argues instead that, as computational media, videogames work on human sense-perception at a level prior to, and beneath, the category of representation. The paper concludes by considering how a more thorough understanding of videogame embodiment can help us to understand how videogame play becomes meaningful for players through embodied practice, and the implications this has for our understanding of engagement with computational media more broadly. 

Nikole McGregor will be the respondent. Please RSVP here to receive the paper.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Thomas Quist or Meghan Romano. We are committed to making cf. an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone. If there is anything we can do to facilitate or support your participation, or if you have questions, please send us an email!