Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, students will be able to:

• analyse and reflect upon current societal discussions around digital games and their effects
• develop their own critical perspectives and research questions with regard to the role games play in contemporary culture and society
• participate in the discourse around games and game design in either the game industry, wider society, or the scientific community
• in a group, organize small professional events featuring research from peers and/or experts in the given field
• formulate a research question, collect scientific sources, compare different research perspectives, and argue for the student's normative perspective
• discuss and evaluate conceptualization of human beings as players, creators, workers, customers, citizens, and the consequences of these conceptualizations for the understanding of digital games in society.

Content

In this course, students analyze digital games as a part of contemporary society. They examine how games are a product of the political economy in cultural industries and how they in turn shape the culture and society that sustain these industries. The course problematises the conceptualization of people as players, creators, workers, customers, citizens, and human beings, and the consequences of these conceptualizations on the understanding of digital games in society.

Also, students will arrange an event and work together with or toward a specific target group, i.e. game researchers, industry professionals, or other societal actors. The aim is to allow students to make contact with relevant stakeholders and build connections for the future. This takes the form of organizing a small student-led academic event around a topic relevant to the course content.

Instruction

The course consists of lectures, mandatory seminars, group work, workshops, and a student-organized event.

Assessment

Assessment is of active participation in group work, workshops, and seminars, the written group assignment, a presentation that discusses the chosen topic from a research perspective, and a written reflection on the organization of their event.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.