Two Book Chapters in 'Virtual Interiorities'!

Virtual Interiorities is a three-volume collection of essays edited by Gregory Turner-Rahman, Vahid Vahdat , & Dave Gottwald, and published by ETC Press (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA). The collection considers the idea of the virtual (and virtual worlds) in a broad sense, and it presents a number of philosophical, critical and cultural perspectives on how the virtual challenges conceptions of space, place and inhabitation.

The third volume in the collection includes two essays by IDG scholars. "Representing Imaginary Spaces: Fantasy, Fiction and Virtuality," by Dr. Nele van de Mosselaer (Tilburg University) and our own Prof. Stefano Gualeni, deals with the different ways in which we can imagine spaces: in our own personal fantasies, prompted by works of fiction, or provoked by the interactive experience of virtual spaces. It describes how virtual spaces can be counterintuitive and illogical, but the imaginings they prompt are interactive and explorable like real-life space.

"Gods of the Sandbox: Animal Crossing: New Horizons and the Fluidity of Virtual Environments" by Dr. Daniel Vella considers the popular 2020 Nintendo game through the philosophy of Federico Campagna and Byung-Chul Han. The essay argues that the malleability and fluidity of the game's virtual environment undermines any coherent sense of placeness. It also claims that this reflects a contemporary crisis in the way we inhabit the world, as identified by Campagna and Han.

The three volumes of Virtual Interiorities are available as open access, freely downloadable pdfs from ETC Press, and can also be purchased as physical books. Grab them today!