The (He)art of Wargaming Conference

Wargames—games specifically designed to simulate conflict and build strategic and communicative skills—have (re)emerged as a field of study in the social sciences. With the advancement of technology, wargames have transitioned from abstract physical games into the realm of complex digital simulations. While these complex simulations produce richer activities for participants and more nuanced data for research and teachers alike, they also present timely opportunities for humanistic critique. This conference is an opportunity to generate this interdisciplinary dialogue between humanists, social scientists, games scholars, and designers.

For the sake of the conference, we consider wargames as any game which represents military and/or political actors with the player performing a key duty or role within either context. Thus, we seek presentation proposals broadly on the following themes (this is not exhaustive):

• Representations and mechanics of military violence in simulations and games
• Representations and mechanics of marginalized, oppressed, or otherwise absent communities in wargames
• Pedagogy of wargames in civilian and/or military contexts
• Design problems in wargames
• The concept and critique of “strategic thinking,” broadly construed

Paper proposals should be less than 500 words (excluding references). Accepted presentations will be 15-20 minutes followed by a 10-15 minute Q&A. Panel proposals should be less than 300 words, explaining the general theme of the panel, with additional abstracts for each presenter of less than 150 words (excluding references). In addition to the above paper proposals, we also invite designers of wargames to submit rationale abstracts (<500wrds) and a short rules-and-goal brief about their games. Accepted games will be set up in the space for play during a designated extended session of the conference. Lastly, all accepted speakers will be invited to attend the Patterson School’s Spring Crisis Simulation exercise, which will follow the conference.

Our keynote address is Dr. Natalie F. Hudson, professor and executive director of the Human Rights Center at the University of Dayton.

The conference will be held Thursday, February 25th, and the morning of February 26th, if needed. The Patterson simulation takes place from the afternoon of the 26th through the afternoon of the 27th. Proposals are due by January 3rd and should be sent to heather.pusey@uky.edu; questions should be sent to nash.meade@uky.edu. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by the end of the following week. A special thank you to the Patterson School of Diplomacy, the Gaines Center for the Humanities, and the Office of the Vice President for Research for supporting this conference.

When: Feb 25th-26th

Where: TBD