Classes explore virtual Vassar on Second Life

Stephanie Damon-Moore Assistant Life Editor

If you could have a second life, what would you do with it? Today, millions of people worldwide create alternative reality personas on Second Life. In its three-dimensional virtual world, users exist and interact as the avatars that they create in a world that they can build, change and demolish at will. In other words, you can be and do whatever you want. You can’t, however, escape Vassar’s big brotherly analysis.

The College became involved in Second Life last year with Vassar Island, the digital property that it owns on Second Life. Visitors can scope out Main Building, Ferry House or even the Sistine Chapel, created by Director of Academic Computing Services Steve Taylor.

Taylor created the Sistine Chapel, which has attracted thousands of Second Life tourists to Vassar Island, to spark interest in Second Life at Vassar. Vassar Island also has a screen where avatars, and the users behind them, can view 24-hour live footage of the lawn in front of the Library.

But Vassar is also one of the first colleges to incorporate Second Life into its curriculum. Departments traditionally associated with computer technology, including computer science and cognitive science, were the first to incorporate the virtual world into their classrooms. But more recently, the women’s studies, German and drama departments have used Second Life as well.

Ottavia De Luca ’08 is a member of the paratheater seminar that experimented with performance on Second Life as an exploration of alternative theater. While De Luca found the virtual world relatively easy to maneuver, she doesn’t see it is as future of performing arts or of recreation.

“I think that live theater and live concerts will still prevail,” De Luca said, citing the impersonality of the virtual space. “You are on a computer and don’t have an ability to have a presence in an actual space. Also, you can’t ever know who you’re talking to unless the person is sitting right next to you.”

But while Second Life’ has its limitations, it also has some use as an educational tool. Professor of Anthropology Colleen Cohen has used Second Life in several of her classes. It has been a helpful tool in a variety of ways, acting as a connection between the real world and the virtual world. She said that “this connection illuminates aspects of our culture, such as the importance of a physical body and the effects of virtual violence on the person behind the avatar.”

She is aware of the virtual world’s limitations, but maintains that “if you use [Second Life] in a very focused and direct way, in conjunction with a particular question that you want to ask, Second Life can be very helpful.”

Becca Marcus ’08 has learned about Second Life in Cohen’s media studies and women’s studies classes. She noted that the virtual world’s anonymity has created a highly sexualized virtual culture. “I think the fact that it’s largely pornographic is a huge reflection of our society,” Marcus said.

And while she enjoys Second Life on some levels, she does not see it as the future of education. “Second Life is interesting, and I really respect Vassar and other colleges who are exploring its potential for higher education,” Marcus said, “but for a wider purpose there’s not much appeal.” She added that although there are “many potential advantages” for academia on Second Life, “those things are never going to flourish as much as sex.”