2022 Fall

MEDIAST 190 002 - LEC 002

Formerly Mass Communications 190

Special Topics in Media Studies

Video Games and Playful Media

Emma Fraser

Aug 24, 2022 - Dec 09, 2022

Tu, Th

09:00 am - 10:59 am

Moffitt Library 145

Class #:19296

Units:4

Instruction Mode: In-Person Instruction

Offered through Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Studies

Current Enrollment

Total Open Seats: 1

Enrolled: 54

Waitlisted: 0

Capacity: 55

Waitlist Max: 20

Open Reserved Seats:

4 reserved for Students with Enrollment Permission

Hours & Workload

2 to 4 hours of instructor presentation of course materials, and 6 to 8 hours of outside work hours.

Course Catalog Description

Normally open only to Media Studies majors who have already completed 12 units of upper division work in the major. Advanced study in Media Studies with topics to be announced each semester.

Video games and playful media are everywhere–on our computers, televisions, tablets and phones; on our city streets, in our homes, in our classrooms. Through the politics of video games and play, this course examines the critical importance of design and digital culture in relation to playful media, metagaming, and participatory cultures. Examining theories of gamification and ludification in contrast to ludefaction and resistant play, this course looks at both mainstream and indie games, and the ways in which issues of gender, race, sexuality, and ethnicity are represented and contested in playful environments.

Class Notes

Class Note: This Media Studies elective satisfies DS.3 Digital Projects & Digital Storytelling and Group B: Specialization in a Medium. See https://mediastudies.ugis.berkeley.edu/courses/. Reserved seats will be released during Phase 2 of enrollment. For more information on the enrollment process fo.. show more