Immersive Biography: Supporting Intercultural Empathy and Understanding for Displaced Cultural Objects in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Displaced cultural objects often act as mediators of intercultural understanding due to their connection between the original and host communities. This study explores how immersive embodied VR biography enhances intercultural empathy and understanding of displaced cultural objects. We took the famous Chinese painting, the Admonitions Scroll, housed at the British Museum as an example to design an Immersive Biography in VR. We conducted an empirical study with 24 participants from source and non-source communities. Findings suggested that interacting with biographical narratives of displaced cultural objects in a personified embodied way can effectively promote intercultural empathy and understanding. Additionally, simulated intercultural scenarios and dialogues with personified cultural objects fostered intercultural empathy in both groups, with a stronger effect observed in non-source communities due to differences in cultural identity and personal connections. Our study provided the potential and practical insights of immersive technologies to inspire intercultural communication for displaced cultural objects.