History of Games Conference 2024: Families of games

In Philosophical Investigations, Ludwig Wittgenstein (1958: 65-67) says that in games there is a ‘complicated network of similarities’, and that he ‘can think of no better expression to characterize these similarities than “family resemblances”[…]: “games” form a family’. This is the departure point for our conference theme. Games, like families, are central to the creation of our lifeworld. In May 2024, then, we look forward to welcoming you to Birmingham in the United Kingdom to celebrate the growing family of international researchers investigating histories of games.

This three day conference will host over 60 paper presentations and we are delighted to feature three renowned games scholars as keynotes:

• Dr Tom Apperley, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies and the Tampere Institute for Advanced Studies at Tampere University, author of the open-access book Gaming Rhythms: Play and Counterplay from the Local to the Global.
• Dr Regina Seiwald, Teaching Fellow in German and the Deputy Director of Languages for All at the University of Birmingham, co-editor (with Ed Vollans) of (Not) In the Game: History, Paratexts, and Games.
• John Szczepaniak, freelance games journalist and author of The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers trilogy of books.

The conference fee includes access to the conference, coffee and tea in the morning and afternoon and lunchtime meal. Additional social events will be organised on the evenings of the 22nd and 23rd May.

City Centre Campus Map

City Centre Campus - Parkside Building

5 Cardigan Street
Birmingham
B4 7BD
United Kingdom

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