Virtual Worlds in Academia - From Text to First Person Shooters: Iconic and Symbolic Representation in Virtual Environments presented by Patrik Svensson, Director of HUMlab, Umeå University, Sweden Monday, February 28, 2005 Cornell University, Cornell Theory Center -- The development of information technology over the last couple of decades has carried with it a shift from largely textual representation to increasingly detailed graphical and multimodal representations. The narratives of graphics and gaming industries often reflect a wish to recreate reality or realistic alternative realities. This wish is also very obvious in many high-end humanities projects in, for instance, history and archeology. A range of virtual environments can be analyzed along a continuum ranging from iconic to symbolic representation. I will argue that in many cases a lower level of realism is functionally and esthetically advantageous. Evidence will be drawn from visual art research, medical use of information technology, reception studies, cartoons, the simulation industry, and from research on video conferencing. Three case studies will be brought into the analysis: 1) a small study on realistic representation in computer games, 2) an educational project where students build historical theaters in a virtual world and 3) a project (started in 1999) where students of English construct a graphical virtual world instead of writing a traditional B.A. paper. Patrik Svensson is the director of HUMlab, which is an exciting meeting place for humanities, art, culture, and new technology at Umeå University. His work with the HUMlab encompasses general management, long-term strategy, project applications and seminars. He also teaches and is involved in several research and educational technology projects. Svensson is interested in many topics, including representation and visualization, virtualization of language, innovative educational technology, media design, maps, immersion, computer games, and nominal numbers.