ABSTRACT

Practitioners interested bringing Second Life into their classrooms may be concerned with the potentially problematic subjectivities students must negotiate in constructing (and communicating through) their avatars. This panel give us the opportunity to hear from three undergraduate students who share, in frank ways, their experiences with the complex nature of identity formation in Second Life.

“Avatars are not a representation—they are appearances like any other. Persons exist as flesh. Persons exist as memories and experiences. As we record these experiences and share them through the digital network, persons exist as Avatars.”
--Orange Montagne, Metaverse Manifesto, p. 36.

Since its development in 2003, the virtual world of Second Life (SL) has drawn increasing attention from colleges and universities for its potential as both a marketing and pedagogical tool (Collins, 2008; Calongne, 2008; Johnson, 2008).

Despite this attention, practitioners interested bringing SL into their individual classrooms face a potential quagmire of technical, legal, and ethical concerns (Bugeja, 2007). One such concern centers on the potentially problematic subjectivities students negotiate in the ongoing process of avatar construction.

Although early research in online identity formation indicated the potential for reimagining and exploring subjectivities, research also indicates that the same kinds of raced/gendered/sexed stereotypes found in real life are often merely reproduced, and even magnified, online. Given these findings, practitioners may be leery of asking students to assume avatar identities, particularly when even default SL avatars exude an edgy, seductive quality that, at first blush, encourages easy objectification.

As we consider how best to navigate these issues in the classroom, listening to how students explore and negotiate subjectivities within SL is incredibly valuable. This panel give us the opportunity to hear from three undergraduate students who share, in frank ways, the complex nature of identity formation in SL’s open environment.

Presenter One: Brief Introduction
By Julia Jasken as Julia Yardley

Presenter Two: "Is My Avatar Sexy?: Student Responses Reveal User Psyches While Creating Second Life Avatar."
By Michelle Menner as Michele Byron

This presentation reports on a survey given to 12 students who created avatars within a course called “Writing in Digital Environments.” Questions focused on avatar physical appearance, with specific attention paid to psychological reasoning such as societal pressures and gender roles. The results from the questionnaire, and information gathered from students’ blogs, exposed that although some students transcended gendered representations, most felt pressured to create attractive avatars and significantly enhance their avatars’ distinctly masculine or feminine features.

Presenter Three: “The Avatar in the Mirror: Getting to Know Yourself through Second Life” By Maegan Reinhart as Maegan Petrovic

A SL avatar can be a powerful tool, both for self-reflection and for re-invention. Although there seems to be a correlation between one’s self esteem and the extent to which an avatar is constructed to reflect one’s appearance in real life, it was surprising to note that the creation of the avatar itself can alter self-perception. Because many real-life social customs and norms bleed into SL, avatar construction can also help us reflect in new ways on real life issues of modesty and personal image.

Presenter Four: Assumed Anonymity: Putting on The Mask of Second Life
By Chase Wolf as Cha Python

A mask of anonymity is assumed when an alternative life is created in a virtual world. This mask frees the user to be whatever his or her imagination and abilities will allow. This anonymity granted by the mask invites users to free themselves from their normal actions, motivations, and restrictions. While this freedom mimics control, in many cases it leads to deviant behavior and real world consequences. My experiences with Second Life demonstrated that despite the virtual freedom, cloaking oneself with anonymity often creates false realities and discomfort.

This presentation will take place as an event in Second Life on McDaniel Island, which is owned and operated by McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Avatar presentations will be prerecorded within kiosks and will be shown during the scheduled presentation time. Presenter avatars will be available in world for questions/discussions after the presentation.

Works Cited

Bugeja, Michael. Second Thoughts about Second Life. The Chronical of Higher Education. Available: http://chronicle.com/article/Second-Thoughts-About-Second/46636/ (Accessed: Oct. 1, 2009)

Calongne, Cynthia M. “Educational Frontiers: Learning in a Virtual World.” Educause. Sept./Oct. 2008. 36-48.

Collins, Chris. Looking to the Future: Higher Education in the Metaverse. Educause. Sept./Oct. 2008. 51-63.

deWinter, Jennifer and Stephanie Vie. “Press Enter to ‘Say’: Using Second Life to Teach Critical Media Literacy.” Computers and Composition 25 (2008): 313-22.

Johnson, Chris. “Drawing a Roadmap: Barriers and Challenges to Designing the Ideal Virtual World for Higher Education.” Educause. Sept./Oct. 2008/ 64-74.

Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1995.