Program Overview

HIST 5906: Historical Game Studies

Course Description

This course offers a historical perspective on games, both analog and digital, and teaches students how to analyze and interpret them as cultural artifacts. The goal is to enable students to see games from the perspective of both consumers and creators, and to understand how games reflect the world from which they emerge.

Course Objectives

The course aims to provide students with the tools to critically analyze games, understand their historical context, and recognize how they are made, played, and disseminated. Students will learn to unpack the representations of the past in games and to historicize this knowledge.

Coursework

The course includes set readings, in-class discussions, and complementary exercises. Students will be expected to complete a larger project of their choosing related to the field of historical game studies. Project options include:

• An analysis of analog or digital games using one of the methodologies discussed in class
• Pedagogical preparation, such as designing a university-level history course that incorporates games
• A game design product, such as creating a history game or designing a game prototype

Project Guidelines

Projects can be individual or collaborative and may take various forms, such as:

• A survey of a genre of games
• An analysis of how games represent book and manuscript culture
• A comparison of game mechanics used to depict the past
• A deconstruction of popular game mechanics
• An annotated course syllabus for teaching history with games
• A research compilation on the pedagogical use of games

Course Structure

The course will be run as a workshop, where students will brainstorm ideas, deepen their analysis, and propose avenues of research. The class will use a note-taking system to teach students how to make smart notes, keep track of knowledge digitally, and effectively design a research project.

Research Areas

The course will cover various research areas, including:

• The fundamentals of game studies
• Methodologies for analyzing games
• The representation of the past in games
• The impact of games on how the world or past worlds are represented

Required Readings

The course will include readings from academic articles, books, blogs, and online videos. Key sources will include the works of C.T. Nguyen, Adam Chapman, and Jeremiah McCall.

Prerequisites

No prior experience with games or gaming culture is required. The course is designed to be accessible to students from various backgrounds and disciplines.