A little bit of context: in my sociology class, we're studying ethnographic field work. Basically, this involves a sociologist (usually a grad student writing his thesis) living among and studying a given culture or subculture. He has to spend a long time--about one or two years--immersing himself in this culture, gaining the trust of its members in order to get them to open up to him. In this way, he gets a real sense of the lives of these people and of the social world in which they move. Basically, he's like an embedded reporter, only his insights into the society will be deeper because he's actually been trained to look at society in a scientific manner (unlike a journalist ). Because a lot of these ethnographies involve studying criminal groups such as street gangs, it seems only logical that some sociologists in the SR world would want to do an ethnography on shadowrunning.

So here's my RP idea: a grad student shadows the team so that he can study them for his thesis. He's led a fairly sheltered life, so the realities of the shadows might be so frightening and gritty to him that just one run might scare him off, but he may also decide to dig in his heels and stay for the sake of his work. The student might find himself functioning as the group's face: between oral exams, class presentations, and trying to convince professors to cut him some slack around finals time, he's learned how to be eloquent under pressure. As the campaign plays out and the grad student is drawn in deeper and deeper, he may even find that he's happier in the shadow world. Among his fellow runners, his ideas are acknowledged and appreciated, but in the university world, he has to wear himself out just to have the professors in his department take him seriously. He may have to struggle to figure out where his true loyalties lie.

Here's another idea about academia in the Sixth World: I'm willing to bet that, because of the awe most people have for magic, universities tend to lavish their funds upon their thamaturgy programs while leaving other programs strapped for cash. As a result, both professors and students in the more "mundane" departments are bitter and resentful towards those snotty, self-important mages throwing around flashy sparks and stealing the funds that are rightfully theirs. Perhaps they secretly plot the downfall of their "enemies" in Thamaturgy. Inter-departmental squabbles could even provide an overture into a shadowrun. . .

How else might one work academia into an SR setting?

Yamazaki, William Gibson's Bridge Trilogy (Virtual Light, Idoru, All Tomorrow's Parties)

Well, getting into the Ork Underground for an anthro study would be a good one.

Also, studying paranormal critters would probably require "protection" from the wee beasties...

Ooh, or an archaeological dig! That would have tons of possibilities!

Grant money would be very scarce, too; so runners might be hired to discredit theories, delay presenting professors or damage their demonstrations, along with blackmailing congressmen and wage slaves with the job of disseminating the nuyen. And then you have the classic, "stealing this rosetta stone from Celedyr and frame x University".

Yamazaki is a Japanese ethnologist who studies urban subcultures in particular, usually by living among them. Very interesting objective character.

Sprawl Survival Guide may give you an idea as well (a reporter does something similar).

It just proves some people are too stupid to be killed.

University researchers, especially Thaumaturgists, face many dangers. Not only do they have to contend with their peers, they also have to contend with corporate research teams who would be happy to kill them and steal their work if they make a big breakthrough. They also have to worry about finding something that the immortals don't feel metahumanity is ready for yet and getting nuked by powerful fourth-world magic.
And lets not forget the interpid explorer who astrally projected to the edge of the manashpere and promptly ripped his own eyes out.


Having the runners bodyguard a grad student who actually understands Spinecrusher, Breaker of Souls.

Most gangs don't eat people flesh.

As was mentioned, SSG has a closely related artical, written by one of our own (Elissa Carey). Its one of my fav. bits of SR flavor, that I often toss at a player so they get their roots right.