English 293-002
Literature and Media: Video Games and Comparative Media
Instr: Wesp, Edward
Office: CRT 588; 229-6077
e-mail: edwesp@uwm.edu
Office hours:
Course Information: T&R; 2:00-3:50pm; BUS N110
Course Description
This course will examine overlaps between video games and other textual and visual media forms. The readings, screenings and game play in the course will focus on the intersection of various media and their attendant theories, exploring areas such as: Narrative, Character and Identification, Style, Interaction. The goals of the course will be to 1) trace the influences shaping the cultural study of video games, 2) develop critical approaches to games and 3) recognize the ways that the analysis of games advances our understanding of previously existing cultural forms. Readings will be taken from Game Studies as well as Film and Literary criticism, along with selected short fiction. We will work with video games in and out of class, including Half-Life/games from the Grand Theft Auto series, Zork, EverQuest, and others. Screenings will include films that have influenced or have been influenced by game form such as Run Lola Run and Tomb Raider.
