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Anchorhold Afference

A Virtual Reality experience modeled after Julian of Norwich's authorial positionality and the spatial confinement of anchorholds.

Published onJan 18, 2022
Anchorhold Afference
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According to Mary Wellesley of the British Library, scholars have found that the average anchorhold was no larger than 12 square feet in size.

 Image with two brick walls and an opening in the middle, revealing outside the anchorhold. Outside one can see: grass, the door, trees, and the cathedral.

 View outside of anchorhold from inside.

Description

As an anchoress, Julian of Norwich confined herself to a form of reality and existence that many cannot fully understand due to its harsh and regimented size, complete isolation, and ultimate sensory deprivation. To make her writings and realities as an anchoress more accessible, I created a VR system modeled after Julian of Norwich’s anchorhold through utilizing Oculus and Unity applications without any prior coding, programing, or VR designing experience. Fascinatingly, numerous parallels arose between VR creation, implementation, and utilization as the experience of the anchorhold, including the roles of barriers, isolation, sensory deprivation, and wear on the body. As such, Anchorhold Afference is a virtual Reality experience modeled after Julian of Norwich's authorial positionality and the spatial confinement of anchorholds that offers users an opportunity to further consider the reality of anchoresses, like Julian of Norwich, as well as the affective nature of VR infrastructure.

Anchorhold Afference in use.

Project Creator or Project Team Name

Kelsey Dufresne : Kelsey (she/her) is a Phd student and literature instructor that supports digital project work across the university. She focuses on experiential and experimental learning and community-centered discursive design and critical making with a focus on digital humanities. 

Institutional affiliation/s

North Carolina State University

Years active

2019 to present 

Keywords/Tags

digital humanities; critical making; VR; immersive experience; pedagogy 

A student has on the VR glasses with their back to the camera, while the TVs show what the student is able to view with the glasses.

Student utilizing Anchorhold Afference.

Screenshot of scene with cathedral, anchorhold, and trees. The screenshot also shows the coding process for a tree on the right.

Screenshot of Unity application demonstrating the creation of Anchorhold Afference.

View that shows the brick walls, barred window, and window opening to a tree.

View from inside Anchorhold Afference.

View that shows the brick walls, barred window, and window opening to a tree.

 View from inside Anchorhold Afference with the Oculus Mirror in effect (blue and purple grid to protect users).

To learn more

Project page

Critical Making in the Literature Classroom: Utilizing VR Technology to Study Authorial Affect

Using Virtual Reality to explore compassion


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