"NEW FORMS OF SOCIALITY AND COMMUNITY CONSTRUCTION WITHIN GAMING SPACES"
How is the internet changing the ways people create and build connections? By some measures, the internet has hosted platforms that are said to exacerbate social divisions and attenuate the features of daily interaction responsible for reinforcing social ties. By other measures, the internet has increasingly become a key platform for personal expression, fundamentally transforming the way that people communicate, and fostering opportunities for new forms of sociality. This doctoral dissertation project funded by the National Science Foundation examines how online platforms are being leveraged to create and maintain communities among individuals who are socially marginalized.
CAMP KIKI
Developed by Dr. Kishonna Gray and Akil Fletcher, Camp KiKi is a youth gaming and esports camp targeted toward inner-city junior high school students in order to teach them about the possibilities of gaming. Funded by Niantic, Inc. this project works to foster a diverse gaming community in the Kentucky area while providing its attendees access to gaming technologies, knowledge about career paths in academia and gaming industries, and ideas as to how to pursue them. Simply, Camp KiKi looks to support any youth interested in gaming, while enabling them to pursue any goal they may have.