Staging Difficult Histories through Immersive Technologies
When:
—
Venue:
Online
Staging Difficult Histories through Immersive Technologies
Online Workshop – 7th June 2021; 14:00 – 17:30
Curated by Dr Silke Arnold de-Simine (Department of Film, Media and Cultural Studies), Dr Diana Popescu (Pears Institute), Birkbeck (University of London)
This workshop will be the third in the BIRMAC (Birkbeck Interdisciplinary Research in Media and Culture) series ‘Contested Histories, Challenging Memories: Immersive Encounters with the Past’ which so far covered 1) sound, with ‘Curating Sound for Difficult Histories’ and 2) images, with ‘Performativity of Images in the Public Space’.
Staging Difficult Histories through Immersive Technologies invites experts in the field to showcase their research on new, immersive technologies, and identify specific concerns relating to the ethics of engagement with difficult subject matter and human experience such as persecution, discrimination, racism, and violence. This event seeks to provide a platform where we can think together about what else, and what more can be done with immersive technologies to not only create an empathetic bond between the viewer and the viewed, but also to encourage viewers to think critically about what they are experiencing, what is missing and what is shown in the VR experience, and about the context in which the experience in situated.
During the workshop we will present our concept for a virtual experience hoping that this exchange will enable us to contextualize this project more broadly within the emerging critical discourse around the use and impact of virtual reality in the context of museums and other educational settings.
Workshop Programme
14:00 – 14:15 Introduction (Organisers: Dr Diana Popescu and Dr Silke Arnold-de Simine)
14:15 – 14:45 Professor Mandy Rose (UWE Bristol)
14:45 – 15.15 Professor Luigina Ciolfi (University College Cork)
15.15 – 15.45 Dr Bryce Lease and Dr Cecilia Sosa (Royal Holloway)
15-minute break
16:00 – 16:30 Matt Adams (Blast Theory)
16:30 – 17:00 Amy Rose (Anagram)
17:00 – 17:15 Organisers’ presentation of VR project
17:15 – 17:30 Q&A and Conclusions
Contact name:
Silke Arnold-De Simine