CS Wednesday talk in the ASH lobby - Tomorrow at noon-1:00pm! (With lunch, of course) <div><br></div><div>Taken from Hampshire Daily Digest... slightly edited.<br><div><br></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; ">Ethan Gilsdorf (F84)<br>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br></span></b></span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#454D60" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><b>This guy wrote a book!</b></span></font></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; "><br>"Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms." In "Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks," </span></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#454D60" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br></span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; ">a blend of travelogue, pop culture analysis, and memoir, forty-year-old former D&D addict Gilsdorf crisscrosses America, the world, and other worlds from Boston to Wisconsin, France to New Zealand, and Planet Earth to the realm of Aggramar. Delving into Dungeons & Dragons, live-action role playing games, World of Warcraft, the Society for Creative Anachronism, Tolkien fandom, and other fantasy subcultures, Gilsdorf embarks on a quest that begins in his own geeky teenage past and ends in our online gaming future.</span></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#454D60" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br></span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; ">He asks: Who are these gamers and fantasy fans? <b>(Us.) </b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; ">What explains the irresistible appeal of such "escapist" adventures? <b>(Is fun!) </b></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; ">How do the players balance their escapist urges with the kingdom of adult-hood?<b> (De</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">athfest?)</span></span></div>
<div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#454D60" face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><br></span></font></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(69, 77, 96); line-height: 15px; ">Gilsdorf will talk about the culture's discomfort with the geek/nerd/gamer stereotype and will look at society's ambivalent relationship with gaming and fantasy play, and the origins of that prejudice, as well as the author's own past misgivings and final acceptance of his "geek" identity. Since the origins of D&D, the culture has widely embraced gaming and role-playing as an "acceptable" activity since, a shift largely brought on by the digital revolution. The shame of being a gamer and social isolation are gone, but in their place are other concerns: the loss of "place" and "hereness," and the way games with richly-textured digital landscapes may demand less of the imagination. </span></div>
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