February 21, 2017 - This presentation was shown at the University of Colorado Diverse Learners Week Conference: http://www.colorado.edu/diverselearners/schedule
About This Presentation:
In light of the current immigration and refugee crisis, we recommend a collection of digital games that can be assigned in the classroom to frame students’ perspective on the issues of immigration, the refugee crisis, race, diversity, inclusion, and tolerance.
The games will invite students to engage with social issues by interacting with the hypothetical playable histories and playable futures, and consider what is at stake for today’s world.
2. HELLO!
I am Sherry Jones.
Philosophy + Game Studies
Subject Matter Expert and Lecturer
@RMCAD.
Twitter @autnes
Site: http://about.me/sherryjones
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3. About This Presentation.
In light of the current immigration and refugee crisis, we
recommend a collection of digital games that can be assigned
in the classroom to frame students’ perspective on the issues of
immigration, the refugee crisis, race, diversity, inclusion, and
tolerance.
The games will invite students to engage with social issues by
interacting with the hypothetical playable histories and
playable futures, and consider what is at stake for today’s
world.
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4. Access the Interactive Version of This Presentation.
To access the interactive version of this presentation, please
visit:
http://bit.ly/diversitygames
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5. 1. Why Do Games Matter in
Conversations about Social Issues?
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6. Games Can Model Events.
◈ Games are story machines that model versions
of real world and hypothetical events in the form
of interactive stories.
◈ Some games respond to and reflect
contemporary social issues (whether or not they
are designed to do so).
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7. We Can Experience Events Through Gameplay.
◈ Unlike a book that one can simply flip through,
a game will not allow us to explore its story
without engaging in physical interactions that
require logical thinking.
◈ Through gameplay, we “experience” the story
that the game models.
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9. Games Are Not Reality Simulators.
◈ To assume that games can simulate and
represent all the conditions of real world
events would be a ludic fallacy.
◈ Games only represent limited conditions of
reality based on the designers’ gaze.
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10. Games Can Frame Perspectives.
Games can frame our perspectives of events by
modeling:
◈ Playable historical events.
◈ Playable counterfactual historical events.
◈ Playable hypothetical future events.
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11. “The interactivity of games gives them the
unique ability to make this an incredibly
powerful experience . . . Games convey
complicity like no other medium can.
Brenda Romero (August 1, 2016)
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13. Note on Recommended Games about Race.
◈ The following games are recommended for
experiencing certain events of race relations
through various perspectives.
◈ Race relations issues are not merely
mentioned as a footnote in the game
narrative, but are experienced through the
gameplay. 13
21. Note on Recommended Games about Immigration.
◈ The following games are recommended for
experiencing certain events of immigration
through various perspectives.
◈ Immigration issues are not merely mentioned
as a footnote in the game narrative, but are
experienced through the gameplay.
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29. Note on Recommended Games about Disabilities.
◈ The following games are recommended for
experiencing certain events of disabilities
through various perspectives.
◈ Disability issues are not merely mentioned
as a footnote in the game narrative, but are
experienced through the gameplay.
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33. Teaching with Games
Explore Theory
Discuss theories, such as race,
intersectionality, feminism, etc.
to contextualize students’
gameplay experience.
Critical Play
Ask students to play a game
while examining the gaming
experience through critical
lenses.
Critical Reflection
Ask students to pose questions
about the perspective of the
game (i.e. question the version
of “reality” presented by the
game).
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Research
Ask students to conduct
research as a way to evaluate
the accuracy of the version of
reality as presented by the
game.
Application
Ask students to either write a
research paper on their
gameplay experience, or make
a game as a proposal for
addressing a social issue.
Presentation
Ask students to present their
essay or game to receive peer
feedback.