This semester, we will read and discuss the most recent contributions to thinking about games, from more journalistic approaches, such as Marijam Did's critical reckoning with the video game industry or Tim Clare's popular history of games, to more academic discussions, such as Amabel Holland's provocative thoughts on the use of games to simulate social and political dynamics and Nicholas Taylor's critical examination of the power dynamics within the physical spaces where video games are played.

We will critically examine these positions and ask how they contribute to clarifying the meanings of games and play in today's society.

Presence and active participation.

Literature

Clare, Tim: The Game Changers: How Playing Games Changed the World and Can Change You Too. Canongate Books 2024.

Did, Marijam: Everything to Play For: How Videogames Are Changing the World. Verso 2024.

Fullerton, Tracy and Farber, Matthew: The Well-Read Game: On Playing Thoughtfully. MIT Press (forthcoming)

Holland, Amabel: Cardboard Ghosts: Using Physical Games to Model and Critique Systems. CRC Press 2025.

Taylor, Nicholas: The Grounds of Gaming. Indiana University Press 2024.