Education
Our courses on digital games and play are part of the BA programs of Theatre, Film and Television Studies and Communication and Information Studies, as well as the MA program New Media & Digital Culture and Research MA program Media and Performance Studies at the Faculty of Humanities, Utrecht University. You can also choose game or play as the main subject for your BA and MA thesis.
Minor in Game Studies
We offer a full-fledged Minor in Game Studies. In this minor program, students will follow four compulsory courses all of which can be found among the courses listed below. Students who participate in this minor will meet the requirements to qualify for admission in the New Media & Digital Culture MA program. More detailed information about the Minor in Game Studies can be found on our Minor Game Studies page (in Dutch).
The Minor in Game Studies is meant for students with a broad interest in play and games, with an emphasis on computer games and playful/gamified media applications. As such, the minor provides ample opportunity to investigate play and games from various perspectives, including art history, philosophy, communication studies, literature studies and a science or social science perspective. The minor program offers an overview of different ways to study games as objects, but also games and play as cultural phenomena which have become an important part of popular culture.
For more information about the individual courses, follow the links provided below, or refer to the Faculty of Humanities’ Course Prospectus.
Bachelor (a compulsory part of the Game Studies minor):
Teachers: Dr. René Glas, Jasper van Vught
Course Description: In this course, computer games are theorized and analyzed from the following contexts:an academic context, a media historical context, a media comparative context and a culture scientific context.
Bachelor (also a compulsory part of the Game Studies minor):
Teachers: Dr. Stefan Werning, Dr. Teresa de la Hera
Course Description: After taking this course, students will be able to: recognize and better understand the playfulness of today’s media practices; conduct a comparative analysis of contemporary (and historical) media play phenomena; articulate valid research questions about playful media practices; write academically on this subject on an advanced level.
Language: English.
Block: 2
Bachelor (also a compulsory part of the Game Studies minor):
Title: Speelse communicatie en gaming
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Joost Raessens
Teachers: Prof. Dr. Joost Raessens, Dr. Teresa de la Hera
Course Description: After completing the course the student can: characterise playful communication from various angles, particularly from the angle of analytical and cultural history; characterise, compare and use relevant research and methodological debates, especially textual-semiotic analysis (content, gameplay) and discourse analysis; create media litteracy in the field of playful communications (“ludo literacy”).
Language: Dutch
Block: 3
More info…
Bachelor (also a compulsory part of the Game Studies minor):
Master:
Teacher: Dr. Stefan Werning.
Course Description: This course is taught in period 1 and 3 of the MA program New Media & Digital Culture . The aim of the courses in block 1 and 3 is to enhance students’ theoretical understanding of changes in the way we engage with digital media. We will do this with a focus on play and (digital) games. The aim of Game Studies: Serious/Game/Play (period 1) is threefold: A. To investigate to what extent and in what way the notions of ‘game’ and ‘play’ can be used as a conceptual framework for the analysis of media use in the new spaces of digital culture (ludification of culture). B. To examine how – serious, applied or persuasive – gaming and game mechanics/gamification are being used outside of entertainment, including in education and for the purpose of political action. C. To investigate to what extent and in what way, digital gaming technologies are transforming the construction of personal and cultural identity (playful identities, homo ludens 2.0).
Block: 1
Master:
Teacher: Dr. Stefan Werning.
Course Description: This course is taught in period 1 and 3 of the MA program New Media & Digital Culture. The aim of the courses in block 1 and 3 is to enhance students’ theoretical understanding of changes in the way we engage with digital media. We will do this with a focus on play and (digital) games. In Game Studies: The Rules of Play (period 3) students do not just focus on the rules of play – or playing by the rules – but rather on subverting, resisting, or deviating from the rules. We investigate the formal and informal rules of (digital) games and play and the way they are negotiated and manipulated by players as well as game developers. By investigating both the design and play practices of traditional games as well as serious games, pervasive games and gamified media, the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of how rules of play impact the way we engage in contemporary ludic media and culture.
Block: 3
Research Master:
Teacher: Dr. René Glas.
Tutorial Description: This tutorial starts in period 2 of the Research MA program Media and Performance Studies. Students conduct discussions (during a period of 7 weeks) with a specialist, focusing on a specific subject with a reading list agreed upon beforehand. The tutorial concludes with a 5000-word final paper produced by the students. The subject of this tutorial are: The Rules of Play.