Hi,
Having lurked around the edges of this list for a
while, I thought I would introduce myslef and
contribute something.
My name is Damien Walter - I'm a writer and literature
worker. I write fiction - short stories and working
towards longer pieces. I've written for theatre and
live performance as well and experimented quite a lot
with collaborative writing and theatre. I'm also
interested in film - particularly dogme, comics,
radio. Basicaly I love stories and that has led me
into many different media that stories exist in.
Experimenting with stories has led me into a strong
interest in the realtionship between narratives and
gameplay, and the relationship of gameplay and
strategy to behaviour. These are areas I have studied,
completing an MA Contemporay Arts in 2003. I don't
really consider myself an academic however, more an
artist who occaisionaly wanders into academia. In my
wanders in academia I have run into some fascinating
ideas around memetics and cultural evolution that I
keep meaning to come back to.
Recomenndations for books that explore digital life:
1. The later writings of Timothy Leary, collected in
many different formats. He continued supporting his
conception of counter-culture in relation to new
technology and perhaps also continued pursuing an
unrealisable ideal, but there is no doubt his writing
is still very inspiring.
2. The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse. Hesse projects
a future where an academic elite conduct debate
through the glass bead game. It is an accurate
prediction of the digital age and the conscilience of
knowledge that age is creating, and that this forum
seems to represent. Hesse's conclusion is that
boundaries between areas of learning are a result of
the politics of academia rather than a natural
seperation. Perhaps then a 'golden rule' of
interdisciplinarity would be that to make it work you
have to de-emphasise the politics and status struggles
of your environment.
Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
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