Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies Events

Monstrosity 2021 keynotes

Monstrosity seminar information and hashtag

On 20–22 April 2021 the Tampere University Game Research Lab and the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies organised the 17th annual Tampere spring seminar Monstrosity. The seminar was organised online and attended by around 100 participants from 24 different countries. During the three seminar days, we heard 26 presentations of work-in-progress research on all things monstrous (see the seminar programme). Four expert commentators offered their feedback on the seminar papers: Dr. Aino-Kaisa Koistinen (University of Jyväskylä, Finland), Doctoral Candidate Sarah Stang (York University, Canada), Dr. Jaroslav Švelch (Charles University, Prague), and Professor Frans Mäyrä (Tampere University, Finland). The commentator introductions and keynote abstracts are available here.

Although the seminar was a closed event, the seminar keynotes were recorded and have now been published on the CoE GameCult YouTube channel. You can also watch them right here:

Jaroslav Švelch: “When the invaders shoot back: A media archaeology of player versus environment games”
Sarah Stang: “Succubi, sirens, harpies, and hags: Unpacking misogynistic female monstrosity in games”
Aino-Kaisa Koistinen: “Monstrosity as playful practice – Art, science and posthuman knowledge in the ‘Anthropocene’”