![]() ![]() “Whether game designers are aware of it or not, their creations reinforce the way we view the past.” As examples, Rael pointed to controversies that have arisen over the representation in games of slavery and colonization, where his research interests lie. “Games are no longer trivial pursuits,” Rael argued. “As historical arguments they promote counter-factual thinking, for games are by design intended to let players’ choices yield different outcomes.” And the complex procedures serious games incorporate can themselves make critical statements, he added. “There’s certainly something distinct about the ways games make arguments,” he said. “In essence,” said Rael “I’m treating games as legitimate subjects of scholarly study, akin to literature and cinema. Assignments will challenge students to enhance their game literacy by practicing game criticism. Each game will be played twice: once to simply learn its mechanics, and again to analyze its presentation of the past. Weekly “game labs” will offer students the opportunity for hands-on play. Video: Watch Rael’s class play “ Colonial: Europe’s Empires Overseas'” For each theme, the class will play and study one game, putting it in conversation with historical scholarship and primary source documents on its subject. Students will explore six episodes in American history through the medium of games: exploration and colonization, the American Revolution, the framing of the Constitution, the expansion of the frontier, the fight against slavery, and the coming of the Civil War. ![]() Rael is leading his students in an investigation of these “serious games” and their capacity to teach, which, he said, raises a number of pertinent questions: “ Can games constitute historical arguments? Are they, like historical feature films or computer games, manifestations of popular culture that promote common understandings of past events? If so, how do games impact the kinds of historical arguments they make?” More complex games take on difficult topics such as the breakdown of the Roman Empire, European wars of religion, or the attempt to assassinate Hitler.” “Popular games such as Ticket to Ride depict the history of railroad development, while games such as Carcassonne let players develop a medieval town. As they’ve become more complex, tabletop games have also taken on an ever wider array of topics, he said, many of them historical. Modern board games have come a long way from the days of Monopoly and Risk, explained Professor of History Patrick Rael, a lifelong gamer who also devised the course. In Historical Simulations (HIST 2624), sixteen upper-level students are examining American history, from the era of exploration through the Civil War, through the medium of tabletop games. ![]() Patrick Rael watches his students play an historical board gameĬan games teach history? This fall, a new, innovative course is investigating that question. ![]()
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