Here’s an overview of the original course schedule, which I’ll keep up-to-date reflecting our decisions and revisions.
Unit 1: What is a Game, and What is Play?
Week One:
Tues: Introductions; What’s a game? Talking about play. Intro to participation Technologies. Syllabus editing. What is rhetoric? Read for Thurs: p.136 of Bogost’s “Rhetoric of Video Games“
Thurs: Syllabus review. Discussion: Extrapolating to build a definition of “game” using p.136. Research teams. Weekly Research & Annotated Bibliography assignment. Weekly writing assignment & technology.
Week Two Due: Rhetorical Analysis 1, Weekly Research 1 (Sun)
Tuesday: What is Rhetoric? Read Tania Smith on What is Rhetoric and Casey Boyle on What is Rhetoric. Generate and trouble definition.
Thursday: What is a Game and What is Play?
“Manifesto for a Ludic Century.” Huizinga’s definition of a game. Review Syllabus. Rhetorical Analysis I Due. Annotated Bibliography Entry
Week Three: Read:Chapter 1 of Homo Ludens Play Animal Crossing. Rhetorical Analysis II Due before class. Annotated Bibliography Entry by Sunday 1159.
Week Four: Jesper Juul, “Looking for a Heart of Gameness.” Game vs Play—ontologies and Activities. Play Portal. Rhetorical Analysis III. Annotated Bibliography Entry. Assign Project/Essay 1
Week Five: Ethical Life as a Game: Epictetus and Play. Read Enchiridion. Play Razor’s Edge. Rhetorical Analysis IV. Annotated Bibliography Entry. Proposals for Project/Essay 1.
Week Six: Class Workshop: Drafting and Revising Project/Essay 1. Annotated Bibliography Entry.
Week Seven: Conferences out of class. Annotated Entry Due.
Essay/Project 1 Due 10/16
Unit Three: Procedural Rhetoric of Gaming
Putting the Play in Plato: Plato’s Laws and Logos. Read Laws, (643b-650b and 673c to 674c) and (803a-805b).
Week Eight:
Learning to Play: Ian Bogost on Procedurality from “Rhetoric of Video Games.” Presentations of Projects. Play: A Dark Room and Sara is Missing
Week Nine: Ubiquitous Gaming. Read Montola’s “Exploring the Edge of the Magic Circle: Defining Pervasive Games.” Play Aris. Rhetorical Analysis VII. Annotated Bibliography Entry. Assign Annotated Bibliography. Assign Final Seminar Paper/Project.
Unit Four: Ecologies of Gaming
Week Ten: Play and Ambiguity: Brian Sutton Smith from “The Rhetorics of Play” Play Little Big Planet. Rhetorical Analysis VIII. Annotated Bibliography Entry.
Week Eleven: Play and emotional response. Read James Paul Gee’s “Semiotic domains.” Play GTA. Rhetorical Analysis IX. Annotated Bibliography Entry.
Week Twelve: Gender and Games. Read Henry Jenkins’ “Video Games as Gendered Spaces” and Feminist Frequency’s Anita Sarkeesian on Gamer Gate and Gender. Play: Depression Quest. Rhetorical Analysis X. Annotated Bibliography Entry. Assign Annotated Bibliography. Assign Final Seminar Paper/Project.
Unit Five: Final Project Workshop
Week Thirteen: Rohrer on Game Design for Information Aesthetics. Read, Rohrer Everyday Games and Biolpolitics. Play Passage. Annotated Bibliography Due. Proposals for Project/Essay 2 in class.
Week Fourteen: Class Workshop: Drafting and Revising Project/Essay 2.
Final Project Due
Finals Week: Present Final Projects.
