ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the development and use of an original virtual reality simulation of the Middle Passage—a massive relocation of millions of Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Faculty and student teams developed the narrative, visual, and technical design of the virtual reality Middle Passage Experience (MPE) between 2017 and 2020 at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The outcomes of this experiment come from hosted demonstrations of the MPE in one Atlantic History course and at one community event in Orlando, Florida in early 2020. Drawing from the recorded surveys, pre and post interviews, and on-site observations, the MPE helped raise awareness and invoked empathy characterized narrowly as sensations and even emotion, but not the complex interaction/conception of empathy. Also, the simulation did not change the opinion of participants, facilitators, and audience members who participated in the VR MPE because the self-selected participants had already expressed sympathy for the captives. As a tool, it helped with the immersive learning performance for participants (audience, participants, and facilitators) who willingly sought to transport themselves mentally and physically to the cargo ship.
