LARPing as research

[kamianya]

So, many of you saw my recent posts proclaiming that I will be using LARPing for my research. My biggest worry about this: What will other linguists and anthropologists think? I've been slightly worried that the second I say I used Live Action Role Playing for my experiment, my audience will stop listening, and no matter how good my analysis, no one will be willing to actually believe it.
What I've found while here at the Linguistic Society of America conference is really reassuring. When I start to explain I'm planning on using LARPing, I get one of two reactions: from a small number of people, I've gotten immediate interest; from most people, I get an answer or an expression that I know means "what the hell are you thinking." As I start to explain, I start to get nods, and a reaction that lets me know they're following my logic and starting to get it. By the time I finish, I've been getting a "Oh, cool, I really want to hear what happens," or some other similar reaction that proves they've not only been convinced, but think it might really work and provide some really interesting data.
So yay!
Now I just have to worry about passing my comprehensive exams. Eek!

Comments

[laurion]

You could always use a different terminology other than 'LARPing' to get people to slow down and listen to what you mean before they judge.

I mean, corporate workforces everywhere frequently engage in minilarps, but they're always termed something else, like training simulations, or team-building exercises, or experimental circumstance improvisation, or something like that.

[darkoni]

That's pretty damn cool.

[thegelf.livejournal.com]

I expect it won't be an issue, because most of the community won't know what LARPing is well enough to know that they should be disdainful of it, and once you explain what you're researching, they should be hooked.

[anidanny.livejournal.com]

^ This.

Most people who have ever heard of LARPing think of D&D nerds dressing up as elves in the woods and throwing lightning bolt beanbags at each other. Most people will at least give you enough time to explain the gist of what you're doing, and that should be plenty of time for them to realize "oh, hey, her thing is something completely different. I won't disregard it as complete nonsense, then."