As larpers grow in to be academics some of us use larp as a part of our research methods. Art, gender, climate activism, history, education and sexuality are examples on themes studied through larp, as well as larp as a transformational tool in itself. In this panel you will meet some of the academics doing social science with or through larp and artistic research on larp. There will be room for questions and discussion. Maybe you will be the next one employing research-through-larp?
Hanne Grasmo is a doctoral researcher at the Tampere University, CoE GameCULT and Game research lab. Her PhD research centers around embodied role-play and sexual emotions, both in Nordic larp and in BDSM communities. Focus areas are role-play design, immersion, queer play and transformative play. She holds a MA in Sociology, and has additional background from sexology, education, theatre and larp design. Grasmo has discussed and written about larp for more than 25 years, founded the Knutepunkt larp conferences, wrote the first book about Nordic larp (Laiv, levende rollespill, 1998) and has recently published a larp monograph (Just a little lovin’ larp script, 2021).
Aska Mayer. PhD candidate and artistic researcher at CONVERGENCE of Humans and Machines, Tampere University, originally from Germany. Play, design and research larps. aska.mayer@tuni.fi Jonne Arjoranta, senior lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Specialized in philosophical hermeneutics, game studies and internet cultures. Studied Halat hisar and currently writing a larp on online hate. More information: https://jonne.arjoranta.fi J. Tuomas Harviainen, Larp researcher & designer, Professor in Information Studies and Interactive Media at Tampere University and one of the Grand Elders of Nordic Larp and Game Studies, from Finland. Used to hold the traditional “What is new in larp research” at Knutepunkt/Solmukohta. Laura Op De Beke, Assistant professor of Interactive Media, Editor of the Eco-game book, and designed climate-larp as part of her research at Oslo University, originally from the Netherlands. Sarah Lynne Bowman. Associate Professor of Game Design at Uppsala University Campus Gotland. Co-founder of the Transformative Play Initiative and the online Transformative Game Design Master's programme. Larp researcher and Editor of the International Journal of Role-playing. Originally from the US and has been an active part of the Nordic larp scene since 2011.