Torill Elvira Mortensen happened to get a job at what is today Volda University College back in 1991. In order to secure the position she studied one of the earliest serious digital games in Norway, and the discussion and criticism of this opened up for a Dr. art. studying online text-based multi-user games, which she defended in 2003. This led to the study of online cultures, games and social media. In 2010 she followed this interest to the IT University of Copenhagen, where she worked until a position at Nord University in 2021 and the challenge of building a new master education in journalism and communication brought her back to Norway. After more than 30 years in academia as a teacher and researcher, she is now hired as a full professor at FSV, Nord University.
Om forelesningen:
Tittel: Emerging epistemic insecurity - I feel that this is right
We live in a time of epistemic uncertainty. We no longer believe in research, God, or the government. Instead we struggle to make sense of the world through collecting fragments and connecting them, more or less critically. The only thing we actually believe in is what we feel is true. Affect has become not only a result of outside stimuli, but the currency that drives the new media ecosystem. Emotion is the most intrusive rationality, and we are surrounded by systems that are aware of this and try to take advantage of it. To understand the emerging communication technology we need to understand how the underlying systems and structures connect to our preferences and feelings. This speech is an attempt to look at how playfulness, games and the individual interests of the user changes the premise for media use, and how we might be able to study this.
Professorinnsettelse – den nye professoren deler av sin kunnskap
Når studentene fullfører en bachelor- eller mastergrad feirer vi de årene med kunnskapsutvikling med en markering. Det er viktig både for enkeltindividet og for oss som institusjon. Når noen blir professor er det et resultat av 15-25 år med kunnskapsutvikling. Det feirer vi med en «professorforelesning»; den nye professoren får dele noe av sin kunnskap med sine kollegaer, studenter og allmenheten. Slik feirer vi at universitetet – og fakultetet har en person som er vurdert av «likemenn» til å ha toppkompetanse på sitt særskilte kunnskapsfelt.