VIRTUAL ANIMALS

Animals are ubiquitous in digital landscapes, appearing in video games, movies, and art as both familiar companions and distorted abstractions. In this seminar, we will investigate virtual animals not merely as digital assets, but as complex sites of mediation and technization. From the lively drawings in Lascaux through taxidermized (digital) bodies to the motion-captured data-bodies of contemporary media such as video games, animals are scanned, drawn, modeled, conjured, written, captured. Though they often serve as anthropocentric mirrors rather than being recognized in their own right, individual (virtual) lifeforms can – at times – emerge as representatives of liveliness and more-than-human agency in virtual environments.

After establishing a foundation through the study of virtuality and animality – drawing from critical animal studies and media studies, among others – we will explore these topics through critical making and play. Furthermore, colloquium sessions will provide a space to discuss student projects involving virtual lifeforms and related themes.

The texts we are reading for this seminar are in English and German, and so knowledge of English as well as German is a requirement for this seminar. Discussions and work performed for this seminar can be in English or German.

Guests

Jana Kerima Stolzer, Dr. Yvonne Volkart, Prof. Dr. Alexandra Toland
(Veranstaltung mit dem Medienwerk NRW im Rahmen des Stipendiums des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen für Medienkünstlerinnen)

Prof. Dr. Martin Ullrich und Dr. Pascal Rudolph,
Interdisziplinäre Musikforschung mit Schwerpunkt Human-Animal Studies, Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg

Nieves de la Fuente

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hawranke,
Motion Design und VR, BURG Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle

Excursions

Multispecies Methods Workshop, University of Liège, 6–8 July 2026;

We offer an optional residency taking place in The Hague (12–18 April 2026).

Please see the Vorlesungsverzeichnis for details and registration.

Selected Reading

Bolinski, Ina, Thomas Hawranke, and Stefan Rieger, eds. Virtuelle Tiere. Lebewesen zwischen Code und Kreatur. 1. Auflage. Transcript, 2024.

DeMello, Margo. Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies. Columbia University Press, 2012.

Philo, Chris, and Chris Wilbert. Animal Spaces, Beastly Places: New Geographies of Human-Animal Relations. Critical Geographies 10. Routledge, 2000.

Tyler, Tom. Game: Animals, Video Games, and Humanity. University of Minnesota Press, 2022.

Ullrich, Jessica, and Stefan Rieger, eds. Tiere und / als Medien. Tierstudien 18. Neofelis Verlag, 2020.

Ullrich, Jessica, and Aline Steinbrecher, eds. Tiere und Unterhaltung. Tierstudien 9. Neofelis, 2016.

Ludography

Red Dead Redemption II. Rockstar Studios. Rockstar Games, 2018.

Stray. BlueTwelve Studio. Annapurna Interactive, 2022.

The Last Guardian. Japan Studio and genDESIGN. Sony Interactive Entertainment, 2016.