Hauntological Form: Where We Might Find the New in Contemporary Videogames

A post by James Sweeting

Introduction

To answer the question “where might we find the new” this paper will provide insight into the circumstances that encapsulate contemporary videogames. Acknowledging that since the start of the new millennium the future has been increasingly difficult to locate, simultaneously, contemporary videogames have been preoccupied with looking towards the past for answers. Nostalgia has often been considered as a potential source for the state of reverie that the past provides, whether that be from history or media form. However, nostalgia is not the source of the increasing reliance on the past, rather it is the identifiable symptom of something else, that being hauntology. 

Roots to Routes: Community Resilience through Ancestral Knowledge

A post by Lance Peng

In a world where progress and innovation are often prioritised, I highlight the need to reconnect with the past, drawing on the wisdom passed down through generations. Mnemohistory, which focuses on how societies remember and reinterpret their history, shows that communities don’t just preserve events but also pass on cultural practices, stories, and shared experiences that shape their identities, and by tracing developmental paths through this historical knowledge, we can see how communities use their past to deal with present challenges and plan for the future. This approach goes beyond written records, exploring how the act of remembering and reimagining the past connects with shaping the future, with ancestral knowledge serving as a key resource in strengthening community resilience.

Remix Culture: the comfort of nostalgia in uncertain times

A post by Michael Smyth

In the city of Bristol UK, during the summer of 2020 a bronze statue was toppled by protesters, dragged through the streets to the harbour and thrown into the sea. In the grand scheme of things, this might seem like a small local disturbance, but what it actually raised were much more fundamental questions about our relationships with the past and how these are affected by the present and possible futures. The statue was of Edward Colston, a 17th century merchant and slave trader who was born in Bristol. Colston’s memory had been divisive for years, with some thinking history can’t be changed and others campaigning successfully for his name to be erased from streets, schools and venues. The toppling of the statue served as a powerful reminder that the past is intimately bound up with futures and critically that the past is also a contested space. It is subject to many different interpretations when viewed through the lens of the present.

Like a Ghost Touched Your Heart: Burial’s Sonic Hauntology

A post by Edward Campbell-Rowntree

Sometimes you get that feeling like a ghost touched your heart, like someone walks with you.

— Burial*