Early Career and Precarious Positions Showcase

We are delighted to announce the very first DiGRA showcase platform for early career and precarious academics. This will take place in one of the plenary slots, in place of a keynote. The session is intended to provide a platform for (1) those beginning their academic careers and (2) those who lack institutional support for their own research because they are precariously employed.

We are defining the ‘early career’ period as up to four years out of the PhD, and precarious (teaching and/or research) employment as including ad hoc employment, fixed-term contracts, hourly paid arrangements, zero hours contracts, and any combination of these. We are however aware that employment arrangements vary across geographical locations, so if you feel you fit into this category of precarity but your contractual conditions differ from the above, please let us know in your personal statement/bio.

Each participant will have 10-15 minutes to introduce themselves and present their research interests. Our intention with this session is to highlight scholars who are pointing toward new possible futures for game studies as a field and DiGRA as an organization, and we will select applications in such a way as to highlight the plurality of methods and perspectives that make up game studies.

Participating in the Early Career and Precarious Positions showcase does not preclude submission of full papers and/or extended abstracts. Indeed, participants are warmly encouraged to submit their work.

In order to apply, please send a 200-word bio/personal statement, and a 200-word description of your research interests. We are looking for relevant contributions from diverse fields and backgrounds. The candidate should write persuasively about how they expect their work will transform the field (or how it has been transforming it so far), and explain in detail how the spotlight session would allow them to contribute both internationally and locally. Deadline for submission: 19 January

Proposals and questions should be emailed to Cameron Kunzelman, Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone, and Gabriela Kurtz at: digraecrpp@gmail.com