Immersive Worlds and Transmedia Narratives

“In the final decade of the 21st Century, men and women in rocket ships landed on the moon. By 2200 AD, they had reached the other planets of our solar system. Almost at once there followed the discovery of hyperdrive through which the speed of light was first obtained and later greatly surpassed. And so, at last, mankind began the conquest and colonization of deep space”
(The Forbidden Planet)

The definition of narrative and all its axiomatic facets have been under ever increasing academic scrutiny for decades. However, with rapid increase in technology and the seemingly exponential expansion of modes of communication, the concept of narrative would appear to have also dramatically changed, without a corresponding depth or connected discussion on its transformations. This interdisciplinary conference seeks to begin to begin to redress this situation through a multi-pronged focus on the nature of ‘transmedia narrative’, or the manner in which narrative is transmitted, transformed and translated through the various modes of communication forms currently available.

The project will critically engage with and seek to explore a number of core themes:

• Where, why and how the 21st century’s concept of narrative starts and where it ends in and amongst the current set of technological forms?
• Where does ‘self’, the ‘implied reader’ and the notion of ‘reader in the text’ fit with new narrative forms?
• How do current genres such as blogs, fan sites, fan writers, slash, graphic novels, film, smartphones, television and games intersect or relate to generate new narrative forms and formats?
• How do the various disciplines understand the concepts of Transmedia, Convergence, Particpatory, Affinity, ReMix and Hypersocibility?
• Are transmedia narratives the purview of the wealthy, the westernized, and the capital-ised and do they purposely, or otherwise exclude and include certain groups and why?