---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Leigh Schwartz <leighs@...>
Date: Jun 23, 2007 9:26 PM
Subject: Call for Papers
To: URBGEOG@...

Aether, an online, peer-reviewed journal, invites submission of papers
for a special issue focusing on the geographies of interactive visual
media and gaming, to be published in early 2008.

Although current research investigates other aspects of gaming, the
geographical element of gaming, such as exploration and interaction with
complex, three-dimensional environments, remains understudied.  And
while researchers of other disciplines have applied academic study to
games, geography offers a unique perspective to examine not only the
human element of gaming, but the spatial element as well.  In an attempt
to examine both the human and the spatial aspects of gaming, Aether
welcomes submissions addressing issues of gaming and space from both
geographers and researchers of other disciplines.  The issue will place
this topic not only within media and virtual geographies, but also
within the broader traditions of geography, as research into the
representation and social interaction of virtual environments draws on
examination of designed environments, representation, and discourse of
real landscapes, as well as examining the geographical experience of
interaction and exploration with virtual environments.  Further, this
special issue aims to enhance general academic understanding of
representation, social interaction, narrative, and play in interaction
with virtual landscapes.

Potential themes could include, but are not limited, to the following:
o    Representation in virtual environments
o    Community in online and offline gaming
o    Geopolitical discourse in interactive media
o    Gaming in the external environment, such as the home or school
o    Play and exploration in game environments
o    Narratives of virtual environments

For additional information and to submit papers, contact Leigh Schwartz,
a doctoral student in the Department of Geography and the Environment,
University of Texas at Austin. leighs@...