The 2025 edition of the Young Academics Workshop extends its focus beyond traditional gaming communities, delving into communities of care, activism, queer groups, and political/ideological communities. Titled Games, Politics & Psychology: Community Building in Games & Virtual Worlds it explores both the positive and negative aspects of these communities in the realm of games and new media, and their social consequences, such as in politics and activism.
The Young Academic Workshop was first initiated in 2017 and has been an integral part of the Clash of Realities conference so far. It is aimed at young researchers at all levels – from Bachelor to Postdoc – and offers its participants a space to present, discuss, and elaborate their projects. Previously significant subjects that have been addressed at the workshop include: Female Figures: Present and Future of Storytelling, Play and Characters (Link), Atmospheric Propositions: Creating And Thinking the Aesthetics of Playable Atmospheres (Link) or Games, Play, Mental Health (Link).
Date: March 18, 2025 (09:30 am– 02:15 pm)
Location: University of Cologne, Aachener Straße 217, 50931 Köln, Room: Skyfall (3. OG)
Website: https://colognegamelab.de/research/conferences/young-academics-workshop-2025/
Contact: youngacademics@clashofrealities.com
Registration: Participation in the YAW is free of charge, but audience spots are limited, so pre-registration is required. To register, send an email to yaw-gamejam@colognegamelab.de by March 16. Spots will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. You can choose to register for both the YAW and the Game Jam or separately for one of the events. In any case, please indicate your preference!
19.03.2025 – Young Academics Workshop Game Jam
Games, Politics & Psychology: Community Building in Games & Virtual Worlds
The Young Academics Workshop will be followed by a Game Jam on the following day. The Game Jam complements the Workshop by combining scientific and artistic perspectives in practical processes and offering participants additional networking opportunities. The Game Jam is thematically based on the Young Academics Workshop 2025, which is being held in cooperation between the Cologne Game Lab at the University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln) and the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities at the University of Cologne and with support of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung/bpb).
Date: March 19, 2025 (09:45 am – 07:30 pm)
Location: Cologne Game Lab, Schanzenstraße 28, 51063 Köln, 2. OG
Website: https://colognegamelab.de/research/conferences/young-academics-workshop-2025/
Registration: Participation in the Game Jam is also free of charge. However, there are limited spots available, so pre-registration is necessary. To register, send an email to yaw-gamejam@colognegamelab.de by March 16. Spots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. You can choose to register for both the YAW and the Game Jam or separately for one of the events. In any case, please indicate your preference!
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Organizing Chairs: Katja Aller (Cologne Game Lab / University of Cologne), René Lang (University of Cologne), Su-Jin Song (Cologne Game Lab / TH Köln)
Advisory Board: Federico Alvarez Igarzábal (CGL), Vanessa Ossa (CGL), Felix Zimmermann (bpb Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung)
Organized by the a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities of the University of Cologne (Germany) and the Cologne Game Lab of the TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences (Germany).