Reading & Composition

Play is everywhere. In an increasingly gamified world, this claim might seem even truer than before. How do we interact with gamelike systems in our everyday lives? How can play-based thinking be a part of the way we think about novels, banking systems, race, democracy, queerness, poetry, gender, ability? Finally, how do we talk about games themselves, and what does games criticism entail? In this class, we will track the history of the relationship games have to daily life by reading literary texts, playing games, and developing a critical vocabulary for writing through and about games.  [Note: texts are subject to change, please do not buy them until after the first meeting.]

Reading List

Huizinga, Homo Ludens

James, CLR. Beyond a Boundary

Naqvi, HM. Selected Works of Abdullah the Cossack

Games (tentative, dependent on access):

Bridge

Assassin’s Creed

Tacoma