Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Palgrave Macmillan

Social Virtual Worlds and Their Places

A Geographer’s Guide

  • Book
  • © 2022

Overview

Authors:
  1. Merrill L. Johnson

    1. Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Offers an original geographical perspective on the content and meaning of virtual worlds

  • Examines the implications for human identity, our understanding of presence, the structure and function of communities

  • Written in an accessible style with the inclusion of original anecdotal “vignettes” to illustrate

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (5 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Setting the Stage

    • Merrill L. Johnson
    Pages 1-54

  3. Where in the World Are These Worlds?

    • Merrill L. Johnson
    Pages 55-123

  4. Who Am I If I’m Not Me?

    • Merrill L. Johnson
    Pages 125-210

  5. Is Place Still a Place in Social Virtual Worlds?

    • Merrill L. Johnson
    Pages 211-282

  6. Whither Social Virtual Worlds and Their Geographers

    • Merrill L. Johnson
    Pages 283-293

  7. Back Matter

    Pages 295-322
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This book provides a foundational look at social virtual worlds from the geographer’s perspective. How can the geographer’s craft be applied to social virtual worlds? This question is addressed through careful analysis of what social virtual worlds are, how interest in these worlds has waxed and waned during the twenty-first century, and the meaning of their concocted spaces. Examining one of the key features of the social virtual world, the avatar, the book focuses on its user's motivations and identity choices. The book draws on the geographical understanding of place to examine where avatars live, work, and roam, and describes how virtual-world places resemble and diverge from actual-world places. A mixed-methods survey conducted in Second Life adds additional breadth to the discussion, whilst a series of vignettes gives extra life to the subject matter. This original exploration of the content and meaning of social virtual worlds is an essential resource for geographers, and for anyone interested in the virtual world experience.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Anthropology and Geography, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, USA

    Merrill L. Johnson

About the author

Dr. Merrill L. Johnson is Professor of Geography at Colorado State University. He is a former Associate Provost, Associate Dean, Department Chair, and Professor of Geography at the University of New Orleans, and was a Principal Investigator for a statewide university virtual-world initiative. Dr. Johnson is an economic and political geographer who subsequently developed a keen interest in virtual worlds.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Social Virtual Worlds and Their Places

  • Book Subtitle: A Geographer’s Guide

  • Authors: Merrill L. Johnson

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8626-9

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-16-8625-2Published: 12 June 2022

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-981-16-8628-3Published: 12 June 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-981-16-8626-9Published: 11 June 2022

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVII, 322

  • Number of Illustrations: 43 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Human Geography, Anthropology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation