Open access
MAN AND HIS PLACE. AROUND THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF VIRTUAL WORLDS BY TOM BOELLSTORFF
Monika MICZKA-PAJESTKA1
Transformations of Man and Society: Ideas, Perspectives
Publication language: Polish
Journal article
Transformations No. 1-2 (84-85) 2015, Publication date: 4 May 2015
Keywords: anthropology of virtual worlds, Second Life, place in virtual world, new reality
Abstract The article discusses the concept of Tom Boellstorff, which he himself called anthropology of virtual worlds. There is considered a problem of finding a place in the virtual space, and especially in virtual worlds like Second Life. And hence it describes the anthropological approach of Boellstorff to build a space in virtual worlds, and how to define and understand concepts such as "presence", "dipping", "visibility" and "landscape". The axis of reflection is Boellstorff’s assertion that "the virtual world is the place", and considerations are carried out in the context of anthropological – ethnographic research, which he ran in Second Life. There’s also an attempt to deal with the problem of the relationship between the virtual and the actual sphere as well as the question of moving towards a "new reality" and virtual human anthropology.
Katedra Pedagogiki, Wydział Humanistyczno-Społeczny Akademii Techniczno-Humanistycznej w Bielsku-Białej
E-mail: mmp111@poczta.fm