Kulttuuri, historia ja kulttuuriperintö: Pelitutkijan näkökulmat
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The study unit provides the student with ideas and research traditions of critical game analysis from the professional researcher’s point of view, giving tools and examples needed when deconstructing the contents and values of any game. The study unit addresses issues needed for a successful pursuit of scholarly game studies.
The study unit continues one of the three main topics of the introductory study unit within the same module: the ludologist approach.
HISM-G511 Introduction to game studies and analysis should be done or underway before a student can take this study unit.
After completing the study unit the student:
- has a proficient grasp of games as cultural, historical and ethical representations of their environments,
- is proficient in understanding and using concepts of ludology, heritage studies, archaeogaming, collective memory, and counterfactual thinking in professional game studies,
- can do research on game design purposes and the mediatization of ideas and values in gamifications,
- is fully able to analyze games from several multidisciplinary viewpoints and angles, considering issues like the uses of the past and included value sets,
- has the critical tools to continue into advanced game studies regarding historical and cultural content and adaptations in game-related sources.
A detailed reading list will be provided to the students at the beginning of the course.
The literature of the exam and/or the independent study is decided on in the degree programme steering group in connection with the annual teaching plan every academic year.
If the course is taken as independent studies choose three of these as required literature. Essay topics will be given accordingly:
- Adam Chapman, Digital games as History: How Videogames represent the past, 2016 - Jane Draycott (ed.), Women in Historical and Archaeological Video Games, 2022 - Ylva Grufstedt, Shaping the Past: Counterfactual History and Game Design Practice in Digital Strategy Games, 2022 - Alison Harvey, Gender, Age, and Digital Games in the Domestic Context, 2018 - Wilhelm Kapell & Andrew B.R. Elliott (eds.), Playing with the past, 2013 - Daniel T. Kline (ed.), Digital Gaming Re-Images the Middle Ages, 2018 - Alexander von Lünen (et al., ed.), Historia Ludens: The Playing Historian, 2020 - Torill Elvira Mortensen & Ashley ML Brown (eds), The Dark Side of Game Play, 2018 - Andrew Reinhard, Archaogaming, 2018 - Christian Rollinger (ed.), Classical Antiquity in Video Games: Playing with the Ancient World, 2021 - Tobias Winnerling & Florian Kerschbaumer (eds), Early Modernity and Video Games, 2014 - Stewart Woods, Eurogames: The Design, Culture and Play of Modern European Board Games, 2012 - Esther Wright, Rockstar Games and American History: promotional materials and the Construction of Authenticity, 2022
Completion methods
Contact teaching.
Alternative methods (like independent studies or an exam) of completion may be agreed upon with the academic coordinator of the programme.
Assessment practices and criteria
The assessment is based on the learning outcomes of the course. More detailed assessment criteria and methods will be available before or at the start of the course.
Activities and methods in support of learning
Learning is supported by using a wide range of methods that contribute to understanding game studies as a discipline. Students are also encouraged to actively reflect, to acquire information independently and to develop their own reasoning skills. In addition, special attention is paid to interactive communication with students.
The course includes a final compulsory essay reflecting upon the course and the whole topic of game studies. Deadline for this is after the lessons have finished.
Target groups
Primary target group: The study module and course units are open to all students and exchange students of the Faculty of Humanities.
Secondary target group: Limited student participation within the continuous learning offerings and students from other study tracks and faculties.
In case of excessive applications, students intending to take the whole module will have priority to the contact course.
Teaching period when the course will be offered
Period 2, yearly
Recommended time or stage of studies for completion
Recommended for students with at least one year of studies within their respective main subjects.
Open university students can complete the study unit at any time.
Study module
Part of Historical and cultural game studies HISM-G510. An optional study unit for taking the 15 cr module.
Language of instruction is English. Language of learning is English but also Swedish and Finnish if taken as independent studies or an exam. Swedish and Finnish are possible for any tasks submitted only to the teacher.
Course EQF level
Master's/EQF level 7. Also possible for level 6 (Bachelor) students.
