[Commlist] CFP: Beyond the Empathy Machine: Critical Perspectives on Virtual Reality

*Beyond the Empathy Machine: Critical Perspectives on Virtual Reality*

*More info: 
*https://vrmigration.sites.uu.nl/2025/12/18/call-for-papers-beyond-the-empathy-machine-critical-perspectives-on-virtual-reality/ 



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*Editors: *Professor Sandra Ponzanesi ((_s.ponzanesi /at/ uu.nl) 
<mailto:(s.ponzanesi /at/ uu.nl)>_), Dr. Jenny Andrine Madsen Evang 
((_j.a.m.evang /at/ uu.nl) <mailto:(j.a.m.evang /at/ uu.nl)>_), Dr. Wouter Oomen 
((_w.a.oomen /at/ uu.nl) <mailto:(w.a.oomen /at/ uu.nl)>_), Laurence Herfs 
((_l.l.herfs /at/ uu.nl) <mailto:(l.l.herfs /at/ uu.nl)>_), and Lisa Burghardt 
((_l.burghardt /at/ uu.nl) <mailto:(l.burghardt /at/ uu.nl)>__)_

Over the last decade or so, Virtual Reality (VR) has been honed as a new 
frontier in social tech. From Chris Milk and Gabo Arora’s invocation of 
VR as “the ultimate empathy machine” the medium has been posed as 
curative of a variety of society’s ills (compassion fatigue, 
polarization, an oversaturated media landscape, conflict zones). At the 
center of such curative imaginaries is the alleged ability of VR to 
construct immersive realities that transport you into new places and 
other bodies, thus viscerally letting you /experience/ what traditional 
media only lets you observe at a distance. Often, the social power of 
such experiences is tethered to the promise of automating emotions by 
making you feel a certain way–VR, then, is framed as a medium of 
self-transformation precisely because of the new virtual and affective 
intimacies it forges. Within these dominant imagined intimacies, no 
Other shows up as a virtuous proxy for the self to feel as/with/for as 
often as the figure of the refugee/migrant, often in the form of a 
suffering child or a displaced woman of color.

The anthology aims to go beyond the binaries of techno-utopianism and 
dystopian techno-determinism, highlighting instead what a 
postcolonial/decolonial/queer/critical approach might entail about the 
potentials and pitfalls of a variety of immersive projects. We also 
welcome contributions that analyze types of Extended Reality (XR) beyond 
VR, such as AR, MR, or other projects that fall under the banner of 
immersive digitalities. We especially encourage contributions that 
analyze recent VR projects made by artists and makers who work outside 
the bounds of the typical mainstream industries, as well as 
contributions that play with genre and form, such as roundtables, 
interviews with makers, festival spotlights, shorter close readings of 
individual VRs, collaborative meta-analyses of figurations/themes across 
various immersive installations.

*Potential topics may include (but are not limited to): *

*I. State of the Arts & Origins*

*II. Temporalities of the Virtual*

*III. Spatialities of the Virtual*

*IV. Virtual Affect and Emotion*

*V. Activism, Art, and Immersive Interventions*

*VI. Curating VR and meeting the makers: Festivals, networks, and awards*

*VII. Co-Creation and Alternative Futures*

*Submission Guidelines: *

This anthology invites academic chapters, individual case studies, 
roundtables, explorative essays, essays and interviews based on 
conversations with makers, and other contributions by academics, 
artists, cultural workers, media designers, practitioners, activists, 
and others whose work intersects with 
postcolonial/decolonial/anti-colonial/queer approaches to VR.

Individuals or groups interested in contributing are invited to submit 
an extended abstract of 500-600 words, including the information 
outlined below, to *(postcolonialvrlab /at/ gmail.com)* by February 15th, 2026. 
Inquiries about potential topics and framings may also be directed to 
this email address.

*Your abstract should include:*

  * Your name and institutional affiliation (if applicable)
  * Tentative title of your chapter
  * A brief biographical statement (approximately 150 words) outlining
    relevant expertise and experience of contributor(s)
  * The central argument, case study/studies, and theoretical frameworks
    of the text (if applicable)
  * How the chapter relates to the overarching theme of the anthology
    and to which identified section(s)
  * Bibliographical references (for academic contributions)

*Timeline:*

Abstract Submission Deadline: *February 15th, 2026*

Notification of Acceptance: March 15th, 2026

Submission Deadline: September 30th, 2026

Editorial Feedback: December 1st, 2026

Final Submission Deadline: April 1st, 2027

*Full Submission:*

Word limit (academic chapters): 5000– 7,000 words (including references)

Reference Style: Chicago Manual style

Word limit (case studies, roundtables, essays): 2500 – 5000 words 
(including references)


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