The new curriculum, which replaces the previous minor “Game Studies’, is a transdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Media & Cultures studies (MCW), the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development and the Department of Information and Computing Sciences and enables students to analyze games and play in contemporary culture and to creatively apply them to address societal challenges.
More information is available via the minor description on the Utrecht University website (LINK); for further questions, please contact the minor coordinator, Dr. Stefan Werning, via email.
“Games and Play in a Changing Society” is intended for students who are interested in learning about how concepts from game and play studies as well as game research can be harnessed to more adequately interpret contemporary socio-cultural developments and how games and game design can be used as tools to address urgent societal challenges like the climate crisis from a transdisciplinary perspective. Games and playful phenomena are increasingly exacerbating societal problems – think betting markets like Kalshi or Polymarket or exploitative social media ‘games’ like TikTok Live Matches – but can also constitute powerful tools for positive societal change, e.g. in areas like climate communication, health and wellbeing or community-building.
By combining perspectives and methods from media and culture studies, geosciences and computer sciences, participants learn how these concepts and approaches are being mobilized in different disciplinary contexts, but also experience first-hand how games and play can foster transdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.
The direct connection between theory/analysis and hands-on game design practice (without requiring previous design experience and/or technical skills), further distinguishes this minor. For that purpose, it draws on collaborations with academic and societal partners like Utrecht School of the Arts, Wageningen University Games Hub, the UN’s Playing for the Planet program or Playlab NYU.
The new minor can be started in block 1 (in which case registration for both the minor and the first two courses is still ongoing until June 26) or in block 3 (in which case the registration period starts at the beginning of November). While the main teaching language in the minor is English, the course Playful Learning (block 4) is taught in Dutch. Students who prefer to follow the entire minor trajectory in English can choose Green Media & Sustainable Futures (ME3V19001) instead of Playful Learning (INFOB3APGA) in block 4.
