It is an online J-term course, so you can take it from anywhere where there’s internet access - you don’t have to be at SHU during J-Term.
In the last decade, a growing number of scholars have noticed the importance of video games to modern culture, as a form of story telling, as a form of teaching, and as a form of social commentary.
This course explores the nature of "fun," how "fun" is created and used by game designers, and how games reflect and shape the values of the culture in which they exist.
]]> Assignments will include a review (written for people who haven’t played the game), a personal essay (designed to be informative to audiences that may or may not have played the game) and an academic study (for people who already know the game well, or who are more interested in what your study argues than a summary of the game itself). There will also be informal writing and other peer-based assignments that help me keep track of your ability to follow the readings.In the first part of the course, we will look into gaming history and play some older games that are freely available on the internet. In the second part of the course, we will read academic scholarship, on both older games and more recent ones. In the third part of the course, you would pick a game that you know well, and do a research project that includes some form of creative presentation to your peers, and also an academic paper.
There is no final exam; many students opt to take an extra week or so to submit their final paper, and turn it in shortly after the Spring classes have begun.
I would be happy to answer any questions about this course.
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