The Interactive Gaze – On the Status and Ethics of Surveillance Images in Digital Games

• Applicant: Dr. Martin Hennig
• Subject Area: Theatre and Media Studies ; Practical Philosophy
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 509902633

The aim of the project is to develop a framework for the ethical assessment of digital surveillance images by way of a qualitative and quantitative analyses of surveillance images in video and computer games. Through their actional involvement of the players, surveillance images in digital games have a crucial role in forming surveillance habits and are an integral part of public pedagogy. This project will analyse these mechanisms with conceptual tools and methods borrowed from aesthetics, visual semiotics, cultural analytics and digital humanities. The central goals of the project are to undertake a systematic analysis of the current status of surveillance images in digital games, to address problematic aspects with the help of an ethical framework and to discuss the project results with the scientific community and with a broader public to make them applicable for the field of civic education. The project is dedicated to an understanding of the phenomenon of digital images and uses it at the same time for practice as a medium of gaining knowledge in political education. In addition, a theory of digital images is contributed by focusing on the meanings and ideologies conveyed via digital, interactive image forms.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2172: The digital Image
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Wulf Loh; Dr. Alberto Romele