The Immersion vs. Engagement Debate, part 2

One thing the Sleep No More experience impressed upon me was the it is possible to be immersed in an environment without actually engaging with it at all. In fact, just a cursory glance at the student interview transcriptions from my research study suggested as much. My test subjects were a middle school history class from Harpers Ferry Middle School, a fairly easy walking distance from the park. Most of the kids grew up in the area and knew the park well, having gone there for school field trips, family vacations, or just to walk around and hang out. Their knowledge of John Brown's raid, however, was utterly minimal. They knew there was a person named John Brown, and he raided Harpers Ferry. That was about the extent of it. Really. After the post-study interviews, students had a firmer grasp of the complexity of John Brown's raid (many people involved), where certain buildings were located (or had been located at one time), and the fact that some names in the history books were actually real people. Some engagement had occurred. Perhaps not perfect, perhaps not thorough, but at some point during the game, the students created a meaningful context for these people, locations, and events - just as at some point during my Sleep No More experience, I created a meaningful context for my surroundings. I believe that the creation of meaning is the bridge between immersion and engagement, between space and place.

But how do we create meaning? Certainly in my case, meaning came as a result of various elements. First, a prior knowledge of Macbeth that allowed me to transfer what I knew of the story to the alternate setting and narrative structure, even though it took me awhile. Second, as a mother of two young children, I can't discount an empathic response to that particular scene - one in which innocent children are slaughtered. That certainly evoked a strong emotional response. Third, the multi-sensory modalities that were being utilized - visual, tactile, and especially auditory - heightened the emotional response. Finally, the juxtaposition of the ordinary and the disturbing - touching something so seemingly innocuous as a teddy bear, and then seeing it slashed open, intensified the horror through the incongruity of it all.

But what happened when my middle school students played my game? How was meaning created there? I hope once my data are analyzed, I'll have some answers. Or at least some suggestions.