This course will examine contemporary trends in theorizing digital media with particular attention given to software and the video game as new media texts. The semester will be divided into two units. The first unit will address theories of code and software. We will discuss the concept of “software studies” in relation to traditional media studies, and investigate how code and software can be examined as aesthetic and political texts. Through an examination of code and semiotics, software and ideology, and critiques of particular software programs, we will lay a theoretical foundation for the investigation of our second unit: video games. Following the rise of the “serious game movement” we will investigate the emergence of political games, persuasive games, simulation games, newsgames, art games, etc., in relation to the theoretical Concepts we developed while analyzing Software and code.

Friday, January 18, 2008

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for the Spring 2008 course "Code, Software and Serious Games" at Brown University. This blog will be a source for student reading responses and general discussion of class materials.

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