In this lecture, the speaker will discuss the Gamersphere - a core concept in his research. The Gamersphere – the spatial-temporal dimension emerging from the intersection of the digital virtual domain and the logics of the real-life material domain centred around the culture and practice of playing video games and the structures emerging from both domains sustaining this intersection – represents an interesting site for conceiving radical alternatives, both in terms of social practices and imaginaries where the Subject, unlike more established forms of media and culture, can, even if in a limited basis, be lived and experienced within this dimension, relatively unrestrained by the logics of the real material dimension in which the Subject interacts with. In this lecture, he posits the logics of the Gamersphere – in this instance, the ways through which subjectivity (and by extension, intersubjectivity) is formed and experienced within this space, and the fundamental connection between the Subject-player and the physical electronic devices which give rise to this dimension – and how the logics and practices emerging from this dimension inspire wider reflections which underlie the logics and practices within the IRL (In Real Life) environment through which the player relates to their reality.
Vince Aguspina is a PhD student with the Centre of Ideology and Discourse Analysis of the Department of Government. He earned his BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and MA in Ideology and Discourse Analysis from the University of Essex. Specialising in political theory and critical political science, his primary interests revolve around digital society and culture, discourse theory, psychoanalysis, and the challenges of contemporary democracy.