Oskar Milik
Thesis title: Protecting Face in Virtual Life: An Ethnographic Analysis of Identity Categories and Informal Systems of Social Control in Massively Multiplayer Online WorldsSupervisor: Dr Aogán Mulcahy
Biographical Note:
Polish-born and California-raised, I have been an active member of the gaming community since the origins of the LAN community. Through gaming experiences in both the standard world and the virtual worlds that arose with the development of Massively Multiplayer Online games, my focus turned to the interpersonal relationships and power structures that exist in the online world.
My current focus is on the way that language is used by leaders and players of the online games EVE Online and World of Warcraft. By studying the presentation of self online and the use of categories by leaders, it will be possible to reach a greater understanding of significant social phenomena such as stigmatization, informal systems of social control and online bullying.
Conference Presentations:
‘Real Enough: Identity and Systems of Social Control in Virtual Worlds’. ESS – Eastern Sociological Society 2012 Conference, New York, USA. February 2012
Publications:
Studying Identity and Control in Online Worlds: Ethnomethodology and Categorization Analysis and its Applicability to Virtual Space, May 2012
Email: oskar.milik@ucdconnect.ie
