Beyond the ‘Time Machine’

Virtual reality (VR) and other digital media forms have long been integrated into scientific research settings and have become the object of study in natural and life science departments. However, despite the fact that virtual reality is more and more frequently used as a medium for representing historical spaces and events, it has so far only rarely been the object of study in the humanities. This workshop takes the ongoing dynamic development of VR experiences as a starting point for bringing together scholars from several disciplines to analyze and discuss the potentials and pitfalls for representing the past and transmitting historical knowledge in VR.

Concept and organization: Steffi de Jong (Köln) & Juliane Tomann (Regensburg)

As a result of the workshop the participants published the
manifesto „Virtual Reality Beyond the ‘Time Machine’“ on Public History Weekly.

The Workshop took place at KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg on October 28th and 29th 2022.