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Expert to discuss Internet race and identity issues during Connecticut College symposium Feb. 29
February 20, 2008
NEW LONDON, Conn. - On the Internet, your identity is your choice. You can be tall, thin, blonde, brunette, black, white, male or female. You can even choose anonymity - you can choose to have no identity at all.
Lisa Nakamura, one of the country´s leading experts on the topic of Internet identity, will address these issues of race and identity in the context of online video gaming Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. in Evans Hall, Cummings Arts Center, at Connecticut College, as part of the college´s Biennial Symposium on Arts and Technology. The lecture is free and open to the public.
In her talk, "World of Warcraft: Race, Labor and Avatars in Shared Digital Space," Nakamura will use the wildly popular online role-playing game, in which players assume the online persona of a character with a mythical race, profession and character traits, as a paradigm for exploring the issues of Internet identity.
Nakamura is the author of "Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet" (Routledge 2002), co-editor of "Race in Cyberspace" (Routledge, 2000) and an associate professor of speech communications and Asian American studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
The 11th Biennial Arts and Technology Symposium at Connecticut College, sponsored by the college´s Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology, is a major international conference devoted to exploring the increasing links in the interdisciplinary world of arts, sciences, media and technology with three days of speakers, panels, concerts, video showings and dance performances. The event is co-sponsored by Connecticut College´s Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity.
Several events, including world-premiere performances and installations by renowned artists and experts, are open to the public. For a list of public events, visit http://aspen.conncoll.edu/news/4070.cfm.
Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 41 states, the District of Columbia and 42 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.
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For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu