COMS 333/02 (Winter 2025): GAMES, MEDIA AND CULTURE
From the syllabus: With a growing global games industry valued at an estimated $187.7 billion USD in 2024 come significant questions about when, where, why, and how games and play have come to matter to us. This course provides students with an introduction to the study of games (digital and analog), their relationship to other media, and their impact on contemporary society and culture. Students will learn how to critically engage with games as media objects, be familiarized with a variety of theories and methods for studying games, and consider the role and impact of games across various (sub)cultures. Through the course materials, we will explore topics such as labour and production, diversity and representation, queer games, the impact of “GamerGate 2.0”, and competitive gaming spheres such as speed-running and E-Sports. Students will have the opportunity to learn how to make sense of games as both scholars and as players by working with them directly in the classroom and by connecting them to current events and day-to-day life.
- Teacher: CARRIE E. LYNE DWYER