We're excited to welcome Dr. Jennifer Dornan as our first 2007 guest author on Terra Nova. Jen is an anthropologist and game industry writer who will be posting some of her thoughts about MMOGs during the month of February. We asked her to write a brief description of her work and background. She did that and threw in a guessing game for good measure:
I’m a cultural/historical anthropologist that found myself applying my theoretical work in neruo-psychology and social theory to my long bouts of MMO playing as I avoided writing my dissertation. After completing my PhD (in record time, which I attribute to City of Heroes), I’ve spent the last 2 years teaching at a few universities, writing and designing for various game companies, freelancing as a multi-media producer/writer, and for some reason seem to move back and forth between Texas and California on a regular basis.
I’m very in interested in the cultural implications of virtual worlds and expect the study of MMOs and other virtual worlds to continue gaining legitimacy within the hallowed halls of academia. My fervent wish is that there will be increased communication between the people actually making games and the people studying them.
Since I’m new here, everyone is welcome to guess which of the five following things I have not done:
- Bathed in chicken blood then had a Senegalese shaman give me a forehead hickey.
- Killed a highly poisonous snake in the jungles of Central America with my machete.
- Investigated Felony 1 murders in Washington DC.
- Learned how to climb a betel nut tree and prepare yummy taro dinners in Micronesia.
- Eaten bull testicles in Indonesia in order to avoid offending my host.
Let the guessing begin! :-)
...Which one of these is not like the other...
I'd say the poisonous snake one.
Posted by: Doug | Jan 27, 2007 at 11:26
I know! It must be 1! :)
Welcome Jennifer. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Eric
Posted by: IAmEric | Jan 27, 2007 at 12:32
I think it's either 1 or 5. More likely to be 5. Ironically, because I spend too much time with mind games, I wonder if it's 3 just because it's so... mundane... in comparison.
Posted by: Michael Chui | Jan 27, 2007 at 13:05
Thanks for the welcome, I’m glad to be here and look forward to lots of interesting discussion! ☺ So far one of you got it, and I will add that # 3 is something I have done and it was by FAR the most frightening of them all.
Posted by: Jen Dornan | Jan 27, 2007 at 16:33
Must be 5 or 2 then, right? Since two people kind of guessed 1? I had thought it was 4!
Posted by: greglas | Jan 27, 2007 at 17:23
Welcome, Jen! I look forward to reading your thoughts here.
I was going to guess #1 or #4, but it must be 2 or 5? If you've chewed betel nut you get additional props! :)
Posted by: Mike Sellers | Jan 27, 2007 at 18:12
Welcome, Jen -- more anthropologists FTW!
Off the top of my head, I'd say #5, if only because the Hinduism in the area might work against, um, bovine consumption of that sort. But, really, it's hard to pick an anthropological bizarre food-eating account as false, if only because it's the classic narrative of the fieldwork experience. If it's true, then I think I got off much easier -- boiled sheep's lung in highland Crete. >.<
Posted by: Thomas Malaby | Jan 27, 2007 at 19:37
I say #1 since it's a different area of the world than the others.
Posted by: Dmitri Williams | Jan 28, 2007 at 12:16
It is pretty clear it is #2 ;-)
Posted by: nate combs | Jan 28, 2007 at 12:19
Ok, I fess up that I have never eaten bull testicles. Somehow I’ve managed to avoid the standard Anthropology hazing and have no good food stories to tell (excepting too much Ketchup in Africa but that could be a nightmare tale right out of middle America). Mike, I have chewed betel nut in quantity though I will admit I’m a total lightweight.
Posted by: Jen Dornan | Jan 29, 2007 at 16:41
Hmm, Thomas got #5 right but not the reason: Indonesia is the largest Muslim country. Nevertheless, eating bull testicles sound like something more appropo to Indochina.
And, lastly but not the least, it sounded like the most mundane one, so I got it wrong.
Welcome Jen.
Frank
Posted by: magicback (Frank) | Jan 29, 2007 at 20:38
@Frank: I carefully chose the phrase "Hinduism in the area" precisely because it is not the majority religion (Islam), but continues to shape, directly and indirectly, a lot of local cultural attitudes. But it is true that I was grasping at straws, and got lucky. :)
Posted by: Thomas Malaby | Jan 29, 2007 at 21:18
@Thomas,
Right, didn't catch that meaning. Both Jen and yourself could have been talking about Bali, which have very strong Hindu influences.
Well, Jen this should be on your to-do list then.
Welcome again.
Posted by: magicback (Frank) | Jan 30, 2007 at 20:44
I thought it was a trick question/statement, that anthropologists no longer say Micronesia :)
Posted by: ErikC | Feb 02, 2007 at 07:29
ErikC - did I miss some sort of important anthropologist memo about Micronesa?!
Posted by: Jen Dornan | Feb 05, 2007 at 11:12
I say the shaman one.
Posted by: Tony Chapa | Feb 24, 2007 at 11:58