mer zmedien + erziehung

merz
medien + erziehung
zeitschrift für medienpädagogik
merzWissenschaft | medien + erziehung
call for papers 2016
Digital Games
Responsible editors: Prof. Dr. Sonja Ganguin (Universität Leipzig)
and merzWissenschaft editorial team (JFF)
The objective of merzWissenschaft 2016 is to consolidate scientific perspectives on digital games and
gaming that incorporate one or more of three aspects: The range of games relevant to children and youth,
their appropriation by children and youth, and the basic social and societal parameters of appropriation.
Both the range of games and the appropriation processes are subject to extremely rapid development.
Most remarkable in terms of the range of games are the various platforms and game genres, the in part
new sales strategies and business models, and the increasing degree of networking and associated storage
and transfer of data. From a media-education point of view, the focus is to be placed on the content and
structure of the particular range of games explicitly intended for children and youth. On the other hand
those digital games which are intended primarily for an adult audience according to their developers and
publishers, but which nevertheless are played by children and youth, are also of interest.
With regard to appropriation by children and youth, in addition to use settings (e.g. in groups or alone,
mobile or stationary, online or offline, among members of the same age group or in intergenerational
groups, e.g. in the family), cultural relationships to fan and/or consumer cultures are also to be considered.
Furthermore, the focus is also to cover skills that enable independent behavior regarding digital games,
since interaction within the game allows the creation of interaction spaces, encounters with content,
topics and with value systems.
At the societal level, developments necessitate the consideration of questions on media-educational and legal
parameters, for example issues relating to protection of minors in the media and data protection as well as the
question of the extent to which children’s rights (the right to play, the right to participate, etc.) also apply to
digital games. Furthermore, societal dialog on digital games and the associated gaming, including its historical
development, appears useful in contextualizing the appropriation of digital games by children and youth.
merzWissenschaft 2016 is calling for the submission of theoretical or empirical papers which deal with
digital games and gaming, in particular with respect to children and youth. The substantive focus of such
papers should be on the following areas:
QQ Normative dimensions of pedagogical action: Digitalization changes perspectives on the game as the
object addressed in relevant (sub-)disciplines. Game concepts in the context of digital culture and
mediatized worlds are worthy of examination, as is the question of whether and to what extent the
right to play can also be applied to digital games. A central issue in this context is what challenges arise
to the autonomy of those playing in networked game worlds, and what challenges arise for education
and parenting as well as for systems for the protection of children and youth.
QQ Digital games in education: Game playing as an important form of world appropriation has always enjoyed
a permanent spot in various educational areas, especially in the area of early-childhood education. This
raises the question of the significance of digital games in formal and non-formal educational contexts. To
what extent do digital games support learning processes? What potentials and limitations are entailed in
so-called “gamification”, the application of game principles to other life and behavioral areas?
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merz
medien + erziehung
zeitschrift für medienpädagogik
QQ Digital games as communication and social spaces: The medial nature of computer games not only
allows their characterization as narrative media, but also establishes communication and social spaces.
There are additional social and communication spaces above and beyond the immediate game structures,
which primarily facilitate the interaction of players (e.g. Guilds, Clans, Communities). This raises several
questions: How are these spaces structured? What is the nature of the inclusion and exclusion processes
within and surrounding digital games? To what extent do digital games function as political systems?
What is the significance of games for interaction not only within the peer group, but also in the family
and in cross-generational settings?
QQ Digital games as a part of the convergent media world: Digital games are embedded in the networked
structures of the convergent media world. In addition to the issue of communication via digital games
and fan cultures, there is also the question of the character of digital games as a means of expression
and as a medium for participation and the issue of economical aspects. Relevant questions in this
context are: What sales channels do providers choose? What are their business and profit models, and
what are the associated consequences for users? Are these consequences evident and comprehensible
to the users?
QQ The societal dialog on digital games: The societal dialog on digital games has evolved in the past years,
and is characterized by various agents and conflicting areas of demand. Here the agents are of central
importance. How does player participation succeed and what are the relevant topics from the perspective
of the player community (e.g. Gamergate)?
merzWissenschaft provides a forum promoting scientific analysis in media education and progress in the
theoretical foundation of the discipline. In this capacity merzWissenschaft is calling for qualified contributions
from various relevant disciplines for the continuing development of expert media-educational discussions.
Of interest are original papers…
QQ With an empirical or theoretical foundation,
QQ Which present new findings, aspects or approaches to the topic, and with
QQ An explicit relationship to one of the sub-areas outlined or which formulate an issue and/or which
explore a separate issue within the overall context of the Call.
Abstracts with a maximum length of 6,000 characters (including blank spaces) can be submitted to the
merz editorial team ([email protected]) until no later than February 15, 2016. Contributions should follow the
formal merzWissenschaft layout specifications, available at www.merz-zeitschrift.de (→ über merz → für
autoren). Please contact Susanne Eggert, Tel. +49 (0) 89 68989 152 with any questions.
Summary of deadlines
QQ February 15, 2016: Submission of abstracts to [email protected]
QQ March 11, 2016: Final decision on acceptance/rejection of the abstracts
QQ June 13, 2016: Submission of papers
QQ June 13 – July 22, 2016: Assessment phase
QQ August/September 2016: Revision phase (when appropriate with multiple cycles)
QQ Final submission: September 23, 2016
kopaed verlagsgmbh| Pfälzer-Wald-Straße 64 | 81539 München
kopaed verlagsgmbh| fon 089.688 900 98 | [email protected] | www.kopaed.de