Blog, History/Government Games

Guest Bloggers: Sean Smith and Jeffrey Lawler – Native American Agency and Visibility

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On this particular Monday, it seems fitting to feature CGN members Sean Smith and Jeffrey Lawler as our guest bloggers of the week. Smith and Lawler are full-time lecturers in the History Department of California State University, Long Beach and co-directors of the CSULB Center for the History of Video Games and Critical Play. Their blog, titled Critical Play, focuses on history games and education.  

As Smith wrote, “I think the post that best fits with the mission of the Games Network is probably our piece on Native-American agency in table top games,  Pawns of Manifest Destiny: Native-American Agency and Visibility in History Based Tabletop Games.”

The piece spotlights three games that employ Native American characters: 1775: Rebellion; Discoveries: The Journals of Lewis and Clark; and Bang! The Dice Game. In writing about each game, Smith’s and Lawler’s intent is “not to engage in the totality of Native American representation, but to analyze the ways that the structure and mechanics of each game reinforce mythic identities in juxtaposition with a lack of purposeful agency for Native characters.”

To read the post in full, click here: https://www.criticalplay.org/blog/2018/3/2/pawns-of-manifest-destiny-native-american-agency-and-visibility-in-history-based-tabletop-games.

Are you interested in being featured on the CGN website? If so, submit a blog post on any topic related to GBL in higher ed., and/or send links/descriptions of your blogs to [email protected]. Stay tuned for another guest contribution next Monday. 

Blog, History/Government Games

Guest Blogger: Patrick Rael – History Games

This fall, the CUNY Games Network is featuring a series of guest blog posts from CGN members. Our first contributor is Patrick Rael, history professor at Bowdoin College.

Patrick operates a blog to share his experiences with GBL in college-level History classes. As Patrick explains, “The Ludica blog is dedicated to exploring the connection between modern tabletop games, historical scholarship, and college-level pedagogy.”
Some of his recent posts center around a game by Harold Buchanan called Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection. For ideas on how to use this game in a history classroom, check out his post from Sept. 27, 2017: “Essay prompts for Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection.” In the comments you will find feedback from the game’s creator, Harold Buchanan.

Access the Ludica blog here: https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/6500/ludica

Additionally, Patrick operates a Facebook group called “Games in the college classroom.” To join the group, click here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1773710516258929/ 

Are you interested in being featured on the CGN website? If so, submit a blog post on any topic related to GBL in higher ed., and/or send links/descriptions of your blogs to [email protected]. Stay tuned for another guest contribution next Monday. 

Announcements

Save the Date/Call for Blogs

Exciting news from the CUNY Games Network:

1. Do you write a blog about game-based learning, and/or would you like to contribute to ours? Email us a link to your blog or a specific entry about games in the classroom and we may feature it on our website.  [email protected]

2. SAVE THE DATE!

The CUNY Games Network of the City University of New York is excited to announce The CUNY Games Conference 5.0, to be held on January 18, 2019, at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City.

This year, the CUNY Games Conference distills its best cutting-edge interactive presentations into a one-day event to promote and discuss game-based pedagogies in higher education, focusing particularly on non-digital learning activities faculty can use in the classroom every day. The conference will include workshops on how to modify existing games for the classroom, how to incorporate elements of play into simulations and critical thinking activities, as well as poster sessions, playtesting, and game play. For the digitally minded, will also offer a workshop in creating computer games in Unity.

Game-based pedagogy incorporates some of the best aspects of collaborative, active, and inquiry-based learning. With the growing maturity of game-based learning in higher education, the focus has shifted from whether games are appropriate for higher education to how games can be best used to bring real pedagogical benefits and encourage student-centered education. The CUNY Games Network is dedicated to encouraging research, scholarship, and teaching in this developing field. We aim to bring together all stakeholders: faculty, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and game designers. Both CUNY and non-CUNY participation is welcome.

Stay tuned for our schedule and call for posters and game presentations. 

Educators coming together to explore how the principles of games promote learning