Nerdology: The Sociology of Video Games and Digital Media

Course description

Are video games political? Are they merely fun, creative ways to pass the time, or are they something more? What can a deep dive into the stories, mechanics, and development of video games (and their related industries) teach us about our cultural values? How can the tools of sociology help us to better understand this powerful artistic space? This course will explore the social, political, and even moral dimensions of video games in contemporary Canadian and American societies. Far from being idle time-wasters, this course will illustrate how video games have become sites of intense social discourse about everything from class to race to gender and sexuality. This course will discuss video games as the revolutionary creative and commercial products they are.