5pm, Thursday 9/17/09
MIT room 4-231

Ethan Gilsdorf will present his recently released and much lauded travel memoir/pop culture narrative, FANTASY FREAKS AND GAMING GEEKS: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms, which NPR's Adrei Codrescu calls a "breathless adventure/quest/memoir that is uniquely contemporary." Drawing from his own experience as a longtime Dungeons & Dragons devotee, Gilsdorf's talk will explore the varied terrain of fantasy and gaming subcultures, illuminating what attracts game-players and fantasy fans to these worlds, and for what reasons.

Now based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Gilsdorf publishes travel, arts, and pop culture stories regularly in the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Christian Science Monitor, with articles appearing in such publications as National Geographic Traveler, Psychology Today, and the Washington Post as well. He has also been a guest on talk radio as a fantasy and escapism expert.

About CMS Colloquium: The Comparative Media Studies colloquium series provides an intimate and informal exchange between a visiting speaker and CMS faculty, students, visiting scholars and friends. Each week during the term, we host a figure from academia, industry, or the art world to speak about their work and its relation to our studies. These sessions are free, open to the public, and serve as an excellent introduction to the Comparative Media Studies program.