Sensory studies arises at the conjuncture (and within) the fields of anthropology • sociology • history • archeology • geography • communications • religion • philosophy • literature • art history • museology • film • mixed media • performance • phenomenology • disability • aesthetics • architecture • urbanism • design

Sensory Studies can also be divided along sensory lines into, for example, visual culture, auditory culture (or sound studies), smell culture, taste culture and the culture of touch, not to mention the sixth sense (however it might be defined)

Isabella Byrne

Isabella Byrne (she/her) is a Canadian-Egyptian anthropological researcher who studies pilgrimage and sensation in video games. She has recently completed a Master of Arts in Social and Cultural Anthropology at Concordia University under the guidance of Dr. Bart Simon. Her thesis, “This Game Made me Cry” investigates the relationships between body, senses, games, and meaning by looking at pilgrimages and video game design. Prior to this, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the same university, majoring in both Anthropology and Religious and Cultural Studies. When she is not reading about narrative design or journeys, you’ll find her playing tabletop games such as Oathsworn, Blades in the Dark, D&D, or devouring fantasy novels at the speed of light.