|
Introduction |
History
and Games |
| 3/31 |
Introduction to the course.
Syllabus and requirements. Why study games? Why study history of games?
Aims of the class. |
| |
Reading for 4/2:
- Salen, K. and Zimmerman,
E. Chapter 3 "Meaningful Play," and Chapter 7 “Defining Games,” in
Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. MIT Press, 2004. DePaul
Library on-line.
Login to the collection, and then search for "Rules of Play"
- Parlett, D. Chapter 1
“Welcome Aboard,” in The Oxford History of Board Games,
Course On-Line
|
| 4/2 |
History and Games.
Historical methods. Games as primary sources. What is a game? |
| 4/7 |
Gameplay Leader Session.
In-class exercise for learning your designated game. |
| Unit 1 |
Death and
Religion in Ancient Egypt |
| |
Reading for 4/9:
- Spodek, H. "River
Valley Civilizations" Chapter 3 in The World's History.
(Handout.)
|
| 4/9 |
History: Ancient Egypt.
Religion and dynasticism in the New Kingdom. Records, inscriptions, art,
artifacts and other archeological evidence. |
| |
Reading for 4/14:
|
| 4/14 |
Game: Race Games. Senet.
Descendants of Senet including Backgammon. Design principles of race
games. |
| 4/16 |
Play: Senet |
| |
Reading for 4/21:
- Piccione, Peter A. “In
Search of the Meaning of Senet”,
Online
- Queen Nefertari Playing
Senet,
Online
|
| 4/21 |
Sources: Senet and Egyptian
Religion. Reconstructing Senet. |
| Unit 2 |
Royalty
and Society in Medieval Europe |
| |
Reading for 4/23:
- Greaves, R. et al.
Chapter 14 "Life and Culture in Medieval Europe," in Cvilizations of
the World. HarperCollins, 1993. (Handout)
|
| 4/23 |
History: Society and Culture
in the Late Middle Ages. Social structure and hierarchy. Medieval Spain
and the Muslim world. |
| |
Reading for 4/28:
- Yalom, M. Chapter 7
“Chess and the Cult of the Virgin Mary,” and Chapter 8 “Chess and
the Cult of Love,” in Birth of the Chess Queen. HarperCollins. 2005.
(Handout)
- Parlett, Ch. 16
“Conquering Kings”, 204-211 only,
Course
On-Line (pages 276-286 in the hardcopy)
|
| 4/28 |
Game: Strategy Games.
History of Chess. Asian variants of chess. Go. Emergent properties in
strategy games. |
| 4/30 |
Play: Medieval Chess. |
| |
Reading for 5/5:
- Yalom, Chapter 11 “New
Chess and Isabella of Castile", (Handout)
|
| 5/5 |
Sources: The Transformation
of Chess. |
| Unit 3 |
People of Chance: America in the
19th Century |
| |
Reading for 5/7:
- Boyer, P. S. et al.
"Immigration, Expansion, and Sectional Conflict 1840-1848" Chapter
13 in The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People.
(Handout). Read: p. 399-402 up to “The Germans”, p.405 Labor Protest
to end of p. 407, p. 408 "Mexican Government in the Far West" up to
p. 412 “American Settlements”, p. 414 “The Politics of Expansion” up
to p.418 “Polk and Oregon”, p. 419 “The Origins of the Mexican War”
up to p.425 “The Wilmot Proviso”, p.427/428 Conclusion and
Chronology
|
| 5/7 |
History: Risk and tradition
in 19th Century America. |
| |
Reading for 5/12:
- Reith, G. Chapter 2 “The
Pursuit of Chance” in The Age of Chance: Gambling in western
culture. Routledge, 1999. (Handout)
|
| 5/12 |
Game: Gambling Games. The
history of gambling. Divination, probability and risk. Typologies of
gambling games. The boundary issues between gambling and play. The rise
of professional gambling. |
| 5/14 |
Play: Blackjack |
| |
Reading for 5/19:
- Green, J. H. An Exposure
of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling. Philadelphia, 1847.
Online,
only the following parts:
- The Evil Consequences of
Gambling, pages 11-20,
- Affray with the Gamblers
in Vicksburg, pages 150/151
- Vingt-Un, or Twenty-One,
165-169
- A Discourse on the Evils
of Gambling. By Rev. E. H. Chapin, pages 296-314.
|
| 5/19 |
Sources: Confessions and
Exhortations |
| Unit 4 |
Children's
Games as Global Mass Culture |
| |
Reading for 5/21:
- Ebrey, P.B., Walthall,
A., Palais, J.B. "Contemporary Japan (1965 to the Present)" in
East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History.
Houhgton-Mifflin. (Handout)
|
| 5/21 |
History: The Globalization
of Japanese Culture. |
| 5/26 |
Memorial Day, no lecture |
| |
Reading for 5/28:
- Kent, S. L. Chapter 28
“The Mainstream and All its Perils” and Chapter 29 “And the Cycle
Continues” in The Ultimate History of Video Games. Three
Rivers Press, 2001. (Handout)
|
| 5/28 |
Game: Video Games. The first
25 years of video game history. Video games in Japan. The rise of
Nintendo. |
| 6/2 |
Play: Pokemon Trading Card
Game |
| |
Reading for 6/4:
- Tobin, J.. Chapter 13
“The Rise and Fall of Pokemon: Pikachu's global adventure”. (Handout).
Only read the following parts:
- Intro, Japan's Mouse,
Glocalization, pages 257-268
- Pokemon's Pleases and
Meanings, Pokemon Epistemology and Pedagogy, Gender, Picachu's
Golden Years, pages 281-291
|
|
Conclusion |
|
| 6/4 |
Sources: Games and
Meta-Games/Conclusion: The changing
role of games and leisure |
| 6/11 |
Final paper due |
