Tutkimusseminaari (pelitutkimus) (Research Seminar of Game Studies)

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Research Seminar of Game Studies (MÄYRÄ & SOTAMAA)

An open research seminar into game studies, run by Frans Mäyrä and Olli Sotamaa, focused on presentations and discussions of the participants’ ongoing games research: postdoc research, PhD thesis works as well as other research papers that are related to the study of games and play. Every CoE-GameCult and UTAgamelab affiliated postdoc and PhD researcher is expected to present at least one paper (or e.g. research plan update) per academic year in the seminar. Related to researcher training, the seminar will also involve discussions of journals, conferences and book publications that are notable or interesting for the research area. If you want to join the seminar, please contact either Frans Mäyrä or Olli Sotamaa by email (first.lastname {at} tuni.fi). The seminar is based on participant’s draft papers that are distributed with the seminar mailing list one week before the seminar, preferably as a commentable Google Docs (or Dropbox style download) link, rather than an email attachment (as large files can block mobile users’ inboxes). Paper recommended max. length: 10-15 pages (line spacing 1,5 or double spacing).

Please post the text to the seminar mailing list before Monday 12 o’clock of that week, latest.

Presenter guidelines: please provide some context to accompany your paper while sharing it, so that everyone will understand what kind of feedback, focusing on which aspects of the draft paper particularly, is specifically needed or desirable in this case. Please be prepared to (very shortly) summarize your paper, the context of your work and repeat what kind of feedback you would be interested in, at the start of the seminar session.

Participant guidelines: we expect participants to focus on providing constructive criticism, putting focus on first reading the entire text and then writing a well-thought response rather than just a lot of minor or technical comments. It is particularly valuable to provide a bit of background and context on critique, to make it easier for the author to see, where the critique is coming from.

In order to facilitate the thoughtful responses, we are now implementing a system where each paper/presentation will be first discussed by two pre-assigned commentators. They will be responsible for opening up the discussion by highlighting the strengths and question marks in the discussed draft text (short, 5-10-minute opening comments are advisable).  Then, all seminar participants are invited to join the discussion and present their comments. In seminar schedule planning, it is expected that everyone who presents in the seminar will be acting two times as a commentator for that term.

Preliminary Schedule, Spring Term 2024:

Room: Currently back to hybrid meeting mode, with both in Pinni B2085 (“Raita” room) and simultaneous Zoom/Teams meeting for remote participation – please follow email-list instructions; typically the remote option will mean Frans Mäyrä’s personal Zoom room, unless otherwise announced.

Time: at Thursdays 2-4 pm (14:15-16:00 – note the time, with the start at “quarter past”)

  • 11/1 Orientation session
  • 25/1 Grant proposal workshop
  • 8/2, Miikka Junnila, article draft on “Lock-picking representations in minigames” (commentators: Olli Sotamaa), Mikko Meriläinen, a research grant proposal (commentators: Matilda Ståhl, Elisa Wiik)
  • 22/2, Julian Gutierrez Carrera, PhD plan (commentator: Aska Mayer) + Elisa Wiik, article draft (interview study focusing on game cultural participation and leisure identity positioning as identity work) (commentator: Ville Kankainen)
  • 14/3, NOTE THE DATE: Aska Mayer, article draft (commentator: Leland Masek) & Hanne Grasmo, article draft (commentator: Aasa Timonen)
  • 21/3, Matilda Ståhl, chapter draft “Learning and Identity in Competitive Gaming” (commentators: Mark Maletsky & Mikko Meriläinen)
  • 4/4, Ian Sturrock (draft) & Aasa Timonen (draft)
  • 18/4, Johan Kalmanlehto, article draft (commentator: Jaakko Stenros), and Tom Apperley & Mauricio Castro, article draft “Digitizing Shining Path: Reclaiming and Reconstructing the Peruvian Armed Conflict” (commentator(s): XXX)
  • 2/5, Rainforest Scully-Blaker, article draft & Jorge Oceja, project plan draft
  • 16/5, Riikka Aurava, chapter from the PhD intro
  • 30/5

More information from Frans Mäyrä & Olli Sotamaa.