Ana Yara Postigo Fuentes, Visiting Fellowship 2023/24
Biography
My name is Ana Yara Postigo Fuentes, and I am currently working on my postdoctoral project at Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf.
In my doctoral thesis, my research focused on the role of video games and, specifically, esports as a platform for intercultural and multilingual encounters, where the various elements within the game either facilitate or hinder the learning process. Using a qualitative approach and discourse analysis, I developed a comprehensive theory that categorizes video games into distinct narrative types, asserting that learning occurs through the player's active engagement with these narratives. This approach allowed me to explore the intricate dynamics of language, culture, and learning within the gaming context, shedding new light on the potential of esports as educational contexts and as a complex system of narratives.
My passion for narratives has led me to the EU Horizon ARENAS Project (Analysis of and Responses to Extremist Narratives), where I currently collaborate as a coordinator alongside Dr. Rolf Kailuweit from the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Our project aims to detect and define criteria for extremist narratives, examining operational definitions, identifying patterns of extreme speech, and connecting them to the broader narrative landscape. Within this collaborative project, I have the privilege of working closely with the INZ members Kristina Pahor de Maiti, Dr. Darja Fišer, and Dr. Jure Gašparič.
Visiting fellowship February 2024
Motivation
My main aim of coming to INZ is to strengthen the cooperative process inside the ARENAS project between the three INZ members mentioned and myself, to facilitate knowledge transfer between our different areas of expertise (education sciences, history, linguistics) and to find concrete opportunities for future cooperation thorugh common project applications. My stay will take place in February and March 2024. By that time, the preliminary data collection for the ARENAS project will have been completed, and a comprehensive literature review will be in place. This will enable us to focus on identifying patterns and specific forms of appearance in extremist narratives.
The preliminary working plan for my visit would include working on a comprehensive definition of extremist narratives which will be constructed based on literature review, evaluation of definitions received from NGOs, as well as insights from the first round of data analysis. This analysis will be based on corpus linguistc methodology which I hope to learn during my stay at INZ. The interpretation of the results, on the other hand, will be approached from narratology which is the expertise I can bring to INZ and which can be useful to the team and other INZ members, especially those working in conceptual history. By comparing the results from Slovene, German and possibly Spanish data, our collaborative efforts aim to achieve the ultimate goal of producing a joint publication.
Selected publications
• Castañeda, L., Viñoles-Cosentino, V., Postigo-Fuentes, A.Y., Herrero, C. and Cachia, R., Strategic Approaches to Regional Transformation of Digital Education, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2023, doi:10.2760/13248, JRC134282
• Esteve-Mon, F.; Postigo-Fuentes, A.Y. & Castañeda, L. (2022) A strategic approach of the crucial elements for the implementation of digital tools and processes in Higher Education. Higher Education Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12411
• Fernández Navas, M., Alcaraz Salarirche, N., Pérez Granados, L., & Postigo-Fuentes, A. Y. (2020). Is Qualitative Research in Education Being Lost in Spain? Analysis and Reflections on the Problems Arising from Generating Knowledge Hegemonically. The Qualitative Report, 25(6)
• Postigo-Fuentes, A. Y., & Fernández Navas, M. (2020). The process of learning a second language in esports. Círculo de lingüística aplicada a la comunicación.
• Postigo-Fuentes, A. Y., & Fernández Navas, M. (2020). Factors Influencing Foreign Language Learning in eSports. A Case Study. Qualitative Research in Education, 9(2), 128-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.17583/qre.2020.4997
