MONOLOG: Matilda Davidsson and Anna Ishchenko “Video Games in Times of Climate Crisis: Playful and Narrative Engagements with Vanishing Worlds”
MONOLOG continues... Deep dives into the humanities, art, literature & music in a relaxed environment. This time with a theme inspired by Earth Week!
Matilda Davidsson and Anna Ishchenko “Video Games in Times of Climate Crisis: Playful and Narrative Engagements with Vanishing Worlds”
Thursday 20/3.
Doors 18:00.
Start at 18:30. Free entrence.
Recordstore Mono, Sandgärdsgatan 1, Växjö
Matilda Davidsson & Anna Ishchenko lecture on:
”Video Games in Times of Climate Crisis: Playful and Narrative Engagements with Vanishing Worlds"
In this dialogue, Anna will talk about the potential of narrative-focused video games to change players' attitudes toward the ecological crisis, addressing award-winning titles such as Kentucky Route Zero (Cardboard Computer, 2020), Disco Elysium(ZA/UM, 2019), and Norco (Raw Fury, 2022). Focusing on how these games tell their stories, Anna will discuss the ways in which they make us feel and think about cultural, societal, economic, and environmental collapses --- engage our emotions and moods and prompt reflections on the ecological crisis conditions.
On her part, Matilda will explore how animals are represented in video games. Often portrayed as allies, enemies, or resources, animals in games are simplified and shaped by the medium. However, some games take a different approach. By examining Stray (BlueTwelve Studio, 2022) and Endling: Extinction is Forever (HeroBeat Studios, 2022), she will discuss how these games challenge the human/animal divide by allowing players to experience digital worlds from a non-human perspective.
Anna Ishchenko is a PhD student in English at the Department of Languages at Linnaeus University, Sweden. Her doctoral project, tentatively titled Environmental Melancholy and the Transmediation of Ecological Crisis Conditions in Narrative Video Games, is part of the MID-world graduate school (Multimodality and Intermediality: Humanist Research in a Digital World) and is affiliated with the Green Research Cluster at the Center for Intermedial and Multimodal Studies at Linnaeus University.
Matilda Davidsson is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at Linnaeus University since 2021, researching video games through intermedial and multimodal perspectives.
(NOTE! The lecture will be held in English.)
ABOUT MONOLOG
Welcome to Mono Växjö, where Mono in collaboration with The Cultural University, Linnaeus University creates an intellectual oasis during the event “Monologue”.
We give you the opportunity in a relaxed environment to discuss, explore and reflect on the topics that fascinate us most. Be inspired by our lectures that span a wide range of topics: from research in the humanities to the world of art, the magic of music and the enchanting worlds of literature.
Starting at 18:30, the lecture will take you on a journey through the different dimensions of knowledge. And the best thing of all? Admission is completely free! So sit down, open your mind to new knowledge and culture together with Linnaeus University and Mono.
As usual, the shop serves kroppkakor, vegetarian pizzas and a tempting selection of coffee. In addition, a tasty selection of chilled drinks is offered, so you can enjoy a refreshment while listening to the exciting lectures
Mono website: https://monovaxjo.se/