Online Archives – Page 2 of 3 – Warhammer Conference

The Machine God endows thee with life – The Priesthood of Mars as a cultural expression of biomedicalization in the 21st century

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Much like the techpriests of the Cult Mechanicus, Western societies in the second millennium are consumed by technological advancement, techno-positivistic ontologies, and the sustainability of mankind. During the mid-1900s, there was a shift in biomedical research and theorization that since has brought us new conceptualization of the body: what it can and cannot do and …

Intertextuality as a double-edged chainsword – is writing for Warhammer a barrier to narrative invention?

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Julia Kristeva’s poststructuralist concept of intertextuality applies to the creation of all genres and formats of texts, but when it comes to working within an existing universe such as Warhammer, the relationship with what has come before and, challengingly from wider narrative and character arc perspectives, what may come in the future, takes on a …

Asymmetric warfare in the 41st Millenium: the cultist as insurgent and Mao’s legacy.

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As the setting of Warhammer 40, 000 has matured it has presented the threat from within as its most insidious threat. Cross-media stories have been told about the Inquisitions work against such threats. Given the quasi-religious setting the insurgencies that are featured in the game and lore are primarily based around cults, either ‘chaos’ or …

Abandon reason, know only war! From Just War to just War in Warhammer 40k

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Abstract Warhammer 40k shows humanity in a complex, yet simple situation. Surrounded by multiple hostile species, war changed from a project to unite all humanity under the guide of the emperor to a eternal necessity, no matter what the cost of ‘xenos’ or even human lives. This raises questions about legitimate self-defense, imperial conquest, genocide …

The Power of Ensembles: How Warhammer Novels Introduce Worldbuilding and Create Tension through Multiperspective Storytelling

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Worldbuilding is an integral part of the science fiction and fantasy genres. A major challenge of these genres is introducing the setting to readers in a way that is natural and doesn’t overwhelm them. This can be done through a reader surrogate character, a character that is either new to the setting (such as Neo …

“Ask Not Why, Just Do”: The Eerie Agency of the Imperium of Man

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Warhammer 40,000 is by the admission of its creators, a satire of Britain in the 1980s. It is a representation of a squalid, sprawling failed empire, where human life has ceased to matter as anything other than oil for the machinery of a broken state. In this talk I will characterise this satire using the …

Only Beasts Fear Nothing: Philosophical Reflections on Fear and Space Marines in the Horus Heresy Series

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Abstract One well-known piece of lore about Space Marines in Warhammer fiction is that they “know no fear.” Fans of the Horus Heresy series, in particular, will have read that Space Marines are not “built to feel fear,” that they are “immune to fear,” and that they are without “the capacity for fear.” However, fans …

The Emperor’s man-children? Warhammer 40,000 as adult men’s toy play

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Miniaturing, with its roots in other historically men-dominated spheres such as military history and tabletop role-playing, is largely a men’s pastime in terms of demographics (e.g. Körner & Schütz, 2021), making it an intriguing phenomenon to study from the perspective of men’s studies. This is doubly true with Warhammer 40,000: as a game it features …

Miniature Meaning-Making for the 41st Millennium

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My investigation focuses on the wargaming miniature model as a media technology, defined both as experience technology and as technology for media production. For this purpose, I will briefly introduce a multidisciplinary view of technology currently under development in the MIT (Multimodal and Intermedial Technologies) project at the University of Oulu. This perception of technology …

In the grim, dark future there is only war(tm): An analysis on engagement and enforcement of Games Workshop’s intellectual property law policy

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Central to Games Workshop’s Intellectual Property (IP) Law policy is its stringent enforcement mechanism. In doing so, the company engages with a proactive approach to engagement and enforcement of IP protection measures across a wide range of unauthorised uses of its IP. The purpose of such a zealous approach is to ensure the integrity and …

Silica Animus, Silica Animosity: How Artificial Intelligence in Warhammer 40,000 complicates the boundaries of the body, the soul, and the monstrous

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The world of 40k has forever been at war with the concept of Artificial Intelligence. The Imperium of Man ever wrestles with its fear of Men of Iron whilst simultaneously protecting and pacifying its myriad machine spirits. They preach against the return of ‘Abominable Intelligences’ while they battle the supernatural might of Daemon Engines. Even …

De Doctrina Haeretica: Transhuman Spirituality in Warhammer 40K

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Prominent in the annals of grimdark transhumanism is the notion of digital metempsychosis; the virtual reincarnation of the soul into a novel, engineered host body. Nowhere in Warhammer 40K lore is this more prominent than the continued efforts of Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl to fully resurrect his friend and companion, Tech-Priest Friedisch Adum Silip Qvo, …

Excommunicate Traitoris – On Defining Canon, Communities, and the Building of Narrative Worlds

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Abstract “Everything is Canon” or so goes the meme which exploded through the Warhammer 40,000 online community in mid April 2024. In reaction to the ostensibly new revelation of female Custodes in the 10th Edition a proportion of 40K fans declared this news as “heretical” and a betrayal of the fandom. In response Games Workshop …

Warhammer in Carceral Environments: An ethnographic exploration

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The experience of imprisonment is an experience of powerlessness. Prisoners get to control almost nothing about their lives. Many turn to creative pastimes as a way to escape, to pass the time and to reassert control over a part of their lives. Prisoners may build with matchsticks, write or draw. When I was a prisoner …

Respect the Canon: 40K and Evangelical Fundamentalism’s Loyalty to Fluff and Tradition

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Abstract Within Warhammer 40,000 (40K), the Emperor of Man sought unity, a single truth, and eradication of alternative beliefs . After his entombment, the Imperial Cult proclaimed him God-Emperor and became increasingly rigid and stagnant over time. Diversity and understanding eroded under a single edict maintained under eternal warfare. Despite the diverse influences evident in …