May 16, 2011
Media Contacts:
Jennifer Mahal, (917) 690-5743, [email protected]
Tim Stephens, (831) 459-2495, [email protected]
Author Damon Brown to speak May 20 on video games and human sexuality
For Immediate Release
SANTA CRUZ, CA—For four decades video games have reflected, paralleled, and influenced
the pop cultural landscape, but they are rarely given the credit shared by movies, books, and
other more accepted mediums. In his book Porn & Pong, Damon Brown argues that games
can be used to show how technology has changed our modern sexuality. Brown brings his
insider stories and hidden histories to UC Santa Cruz at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 20, with a free
public lecture. Brown's talk on "Human Sexuality and Video Games" will take place in Room
180 (Simularium) of the Engineering 2 building on the UCSC campus.
Brown has covered sex, technology, and popular culture for Playboy, New York Post, Planet
Out, the AARP, CNN, and more. He holds a master's degree in magazine publishing from
Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in journalism and computing from Detroit's
Oakland University.
His book, Porn & Pong, explores how both pornography and video games have profited from
new technologies and influenced our culture in tandem. His talk will reveal the rich subtext that
hides just underneath popular games and give the audience a glimpse at where tech, sex, and
interactivity will be going in the future.
Brown's talk is co-sponsored by the UC Santa Cruz Center for Games and Playable Media and
the Feminism and Pornography Research Cluster.
UC Santa Cruz, University Relations, 2155 Delaware Ave. Suite 200, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831.459.2495
About the Center for Games and Playable Media
The UC Santa Cruz Center for Games and Playable Media was formally established in 2010,
building on work done since the Baskin School of Engineering began offering a degree in
computer game design. The center houses the school's five game-related research labs,
including the Expressive Intelligence Studio, one of the largest technical game research
groups in the world.
The center's mission is to tackle core technology and design challenges to enable the games
of the future. Addressing these challenges will help sustain the industry's economic growth,
make game authorship more broadly accessible, and dramatically expand the expressive
power of games. The center is committed to furthering the impact of first-class game research
by building relationships between its five research labs and industry; building and releasing
research-driven experimental games; facilitating UC Santa Cruz game students in joining and
changing the industry; and engaging the public and the media.
For more information, visit games.soe.ucsc.edu.
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For more UCSC news, visit www.ucsc.edu/news_events.
UC Santa Cruz, University Relations
2155 Delaware Ave. Suite 200, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 831.459.2495