The world's first academic conference dedicated to all things Warhammer
Technological stagnation is as common a fantasy trope as elves and goblins, whether it be the Warhammer World, Middle Earth, or Faerûn. Such settings are usually stuck with technology roughly equivalent to that of the Late Middle Ages (c. 1200-c. 1500): knights, castles, perhaps early gunpowder. Sometimes, this conservatism belongs only to particular species, such …
This talk addresses Ork technology in Warhammer 40,000, focusing on the intersection of science, colonial tropes and mysticism. Ork machinery is often cobbled together from scrap and seemingly nonsensical parts but nevertheless functions with surprising efficacy (or catastrophic failure). Two different explanations are given in game materials: Fan discussions lean towards a hybrid model: Ork …
In his 1984 study Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life—published shortly before the first edition of WH40K—philosopher Albert Borgmann provided an analysis of modern technology centered on the dichotomy between things and devices. For Borgmann, a device is an object that provides a commodity (energy, information, entertainment, etc.) while making the mechanism of that …
The Warhammer 40k universe, set roughly 38,000 years in the future, presents an intriguing opportunity to explore the potential trajectory of technological advancement. This abstract proposes a comparative analysis of historical technological development with speculative projections for the next 38 millennia, drawing on the rich technological landscape depicted in Warhammer 40k. Technological progress over the …
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 …
Beset on all sides and within, even with a million worlds, humanity fights a long-drawn battle of attrition. If the Imperium of Man wants to stand a chance, technology is its only hope. And even if it lacks behind, compared to the Necron or Eldar, human ingenuity once rules the stars. Technology is so important …
As I sit down in my scriptorium, the cogitator comes alive with a touch of my finger, its spirit has grown accustomed to in lengthy rituals of familiarization after it was first assigned to me. Eager to work, it presents me with chatter from the noosphere that still my flesh is too weak to perceive …