Project overview
This project investigates how emerging technologies—specifically XR, AI-driven tools, and gaming—can transform teaching and research methodologies within literature and cultural studies. It seeks to develop a multi-platform ecosystem through four core components: VR narrative experiences exploring themes like mental health and the environment, custom AI applications to assist students in critical reading and textual analysis, the establishment of an HKU Game Lab to study narrative design in contemporary gaming, and an open-access database to host these pedagogical materials. Ultimately, the initiative integrates creative technological experimentation with critical reflection to bridge the gap between traditional humanistic inquiry and modern digital literacies.
Academically, the research will produce at least one peer-reviewed article targeted at high-impact digital pedagogy journals. Pedagogically, the developed AI tools and VR prototypes will be directly integrated into a new HKU undergraduate course, “Japanese Literature and Environmental Studies,” and will help incubate cross-disciplinary Game Studies courses. Furthermore, the establishment of the HKU Game Lab and a public open-access digital platform will share these interactive resources with educators and the wider community, fostering long-term social impact across various public domains.
Research Outcome
The project’s outcomes will serve as the foundation for major external grant proposals, including the General Research Fund (GRF) and potentially the HSSPFS. Academically, the research will produce at least one peer-reviewed article targeted at high-impact digital pedagogy journals. Pedagogically, the developed AI tools and VR prototypes will be directly integrated into a new HKU undergraduate course, “Japanese Literature and Environmental Studies,” and will help incubate cross-disciplinary Game Studies courses. Furthermore, the establishment of the HKU Game Lab and a public open-access digital platform will share these interactive resources with educators and the wider community, fostering long-term social impact across various public domains.
About the researcher
Edwin Michielsen is a scholar of modern Japanese and East Asian literature and culture whose research explores the intersections of culture, politics, and social movements across national and linguistic boundaries. His current book project examines how proletarian cultural workers in the Japanese empire envisioned and practised international solidarity during the 1920s and 1930s. By focusing on proletarian literature, art, and activism related to international labour festivals (May Day), linguistic exchange (Esperanto), reproductive rights, Indigenous struggles, and antiwar activism, his work highlights the complex networks that linked local and global struggles against imperialism, capitalism, and social injustice.
Fund Source
Seed Fund for Staff (Approved)
For inquiries, please contact
atlab@hku.hk