From 6th to 8th of May, CONVERGENCE Doctoral Research Aska Mayer participated in the international and interdisciplinary Northern Star Symposium, hosted by Nord University, Bodø (Norway).
The Northern Star Symposium is an international annual three-day symposium with yearly changing conceptual topics, specifically targeted on works-in-progress on unusual topics and questions located outside of the thematic mainstream. The Northern Star Symposium is organized by the Journalism Research Group of Nord University and an international Program Committee. The symposium is located in Bodø, within the arctic circle.
Under the topic of “Mending”, international researchers of all career levels from Game Studies, Health Communication, HCI, Journalism Studies, Educational Studies, Biophilosophy, and Social Sciences gathered to present works under development to a truly interdisciplinary audience.
During the symposium, CONVERGENCE’s Aska Mayer presented the research-in-progress “Adopting cyberpunk dystopia for transformative peripheral practices of technological body modification”.
The research project centers technology practices, which are typically not within the focus of HCI inquiries, happening on the peripheries of industrial and academic circles, or are used by DIY practitioners. Introducing cyberpunk media as a potential blueprint for futurized technology practices, Mayer presented practices combining cybernetics and counter practice through cases of alternative prosthetic design and coexistence of humans and technology in performative artworks and gaming contexts.
With “Adopting cyberpunk dystopia”, Mayer traces the impact of popular entertainment media on technology development, and introduced an outlook on upcoming publications from CONVERGENCE’s section “The Future of Human Augmentation in Games” focused on peripheral practices.