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2K's CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED first-person shooter Bioshock (Xbox360, PS3, PC) presents body modification as the natural outgrowth of an individualist ethic institutionalized as the foundation of a utopian society called Rapture. The game box describes: "BioShock is a shooter unlike any you’ve ever played, loaded with weapons and tactics never seen. You'll have a complete arsenal at your disposal...but you’ll be forced to genetically modify your DNA to create an even more deadly weapon: you." As players navigate the fallen city of Rapture, the game presumes to offer player the choice to embody its Ayn Rand-esque morality or to resist it, weaving the player’s in-game decisions into the development of the plot. Bioshock thus affords us an excellent opportunity to investigate the moral, political, and cultural issues attached to body modification and posthumanism more broadly. OUR FOCUS GROUP, as part of a continuing series on video games generated by the Critical Gaming Project at UW, will address technological and biological determinism, individuality and objectivism, post- and transhumanism, and technological mediations of race, gender, and sexuality. Playing Bioshock and a selection of cyberpunk short stories will be deployed as theory alongside formal video game and posthuman critical theory. Readings may include texts by Cory Doctorow, Maureen McHugh, Geoff Ryman, Donna Haraway, Katherine Hayles, Alexander Galloway, Clint Hocking, and others. THE COURSE will meet once a week for 2 hours to engage guided discussion, analytical and reflective writing, and game play. There will be no formal paper requirements, but students will be asked to participate in online discussion and keep a weekly play-log (plog).
BioShockBioshock Complete Video Walkthrough. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EF8E469BFE2C7C49. The Bioshock Wiki. http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/BioShock_Wiki. Official Bioshock Game Site. http://www.2kgames.com/bioshock/enter.html.
ReadingsBrook, Yaron. "Is Rand Relevant?" The Wall Street Journal. 14 Sep. 2009. 29 Sep. 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123698976776126461.html. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Chait, Jonathan. "Wealthcare." The New Republic. 14 Sep. 2009. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.tnr.com/print/article/books-and-arts/wealthcare-0. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Doctorow, Cory. "0wnz0red." A Place So Foreign and 8 More. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003. 208-243. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Egan, Greg. "Chaff." Luminous. London: Millenium, 1998. 1-24. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Galloway, Alexander. "Allegories of Control." Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2006. 86-106. Hocking, Clint. "Ludonarrative Dissonance in Bioshock: The Problem of What the Game is About." ETC Press. 10 Mar. 2009. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.etc.cmu.edu/etcpress/node/283. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Haraway, Donna. "A Cyborg Manifesto." Simians, Cyborgs, and Women. New York: Routledge, 1991. 149-181. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Hayles, N. Katherine. "Toward Embodied Virtuality." How We Became Posthuman. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 1-24. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Jenkins, Henry. "Art Form for the Digital Age." Technology Review. 103:5 (Sept 2000): 117-120. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Miah, Andy. "Posthumanism: A Critical History." Medical Enhancements & Posthumanity. Eds. B. Gordijn & R. Chadwick. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.scribd.com/doc/391082/Post-Humanism-History. (Also available via UW e-reserve). McHugh, Maureen F. “A Coney Island of the Mind.” Isaac Asimov’s Cyberdreams. Eds. Gardner Dozois and Sheila Williams. New York: Ace Books, 1984. 83-89. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Parker, Kevin. "Free Play: The Politics of the Video Game." Reason Online. Apr. 2004. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.reason.com/news/show/29103.html. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Rand, Ayn. "Essentials of Objectivism." The Ayn Rand Institute. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Rand, Ayn. "Introducing Objectivism." The Ayn Rand Institute. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Rand, Ayn. "The Objectivist Ethics." The Ayn Rand Institute. 29 Sep. 2009. http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Sicart, Miguel. "The Ethics of Computers Games." The Ethics of Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009. 107-149. (Also available via UW e-reserve). Sicart, Miguel. "Bioshock and the Ethics of Single-Player Games." The Ethics of Computer Games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009. 151-163. (Also available via UW e-reserve).
Steinkuehler, Constance A. "Why Game (Culture) Studies Now?" Games and Culture. 1:1 (2006): 97-102.
(Also available via UW
e-reserve).
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• Download the PDF version of the
course policies and syllabus. |
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Requirements & GradingAlthough CHID 496 is for credit/no credit and no numeric grade will be reported, for the purposes for the class, you will still need to earn a minimum of a 2.0 to receive credit for the course. With that in mind, passing with credit will be a reflection of engagement, effort, critical thinking, writing, and participation. Critical Blog/Plog Entries (50%) The majority of the writing you will do for this class is in the form of weekly short, critical, analytical response entries on the class message board or blog: http://depts.washington.edu/critgame/forum_index.html. These single-spaced, 500-750 word writings serve as reactions to, close readings of, and analyses of the game, texts, play, and the connections you see, read, and talk about in class. These “journal entries” are more than just summaries or personal reactions and will be graded on clarity, coherence, critique, and how well you concisely formulate arguments. Response entries are due weekly. See the critical blog/vlog prompt for more details. Presentation & Plog Discussion Lead (20%) Once during the quarter, you will be responsible for putting together a 3 to 5 minute oral presentation on the week's readings and game play. For the presentation, you must provide brief background information on the reading, generate analytical questions to get the class discussion going for the day, and demonstrate a critical understanding of the text. Everyone must sign-up for at least one presentation. Presenters are then required to post their presentation information and questions to the class blog and facilitate online discussion. Participation and Preparedness (30%) Preparedness and participation forms a large component of your final grade. It is essential that you prepare for class, attend class, and participate. Missing class may seriously compromise your ability to do well in this class. Again, negative participation will hurt your participation grade. Participation is determined by 1) your respectful presence in class, 2) your willingness to discuss, comment, and ask questions, 3) your preparation for class, which includes bringing required materials to class and doing all of the assigned reading for class, 4) your engagement in group work and play, 5) your use of the class blog, 6) and your interactions with us and other students. Finally, failure to turn in homework, incomplete assignments, or late papers will negatively impact your participation grade.
AttendanceAttendance is strongly recommended. If you are absent, you miss the explanation of an assignment, an in-class exercise or workshop, the discussion of a reading, and overall, the class as a community of learning. It is in your best interests to come to class. Also, you are expected to be in class on time. Class will start immediately at the appointed time. In the first minutes of class we may make important announcements, establish the agenda for the class meeting, begin immediately with an important lesson, or field questions. Therefore, it is particularly important for you to arrive on time, especially for a fifty-minute class. If you come in after we start class, even by only a few minutes, you are late and we will mark you as such.
Chronic or conspicuous attendance problems will negatively affect your credit for the class. If
you know you are going to miss class, please let us know ahead of time (via email), if you can,
and we will make any necessary arrangements. And when you do miss class, always find another
student to get class notes and see us in order to make up missed work in a timely manner.
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All writing must be typed or produced on a computer. Word processing is preferable because it makes the mechanics of revision--rearranging, adding, and deleting--easy. If you do not have your own computer with word processing capability, computer labs are available on campus with a variety of software that is easy to learn. All documents should be saved in Microsoft Word format, preferably in Word format; if you do not have access to Word, then save your documents in RTF or Rich Text Format. Always make a backup copy of every paper you turn in (e.g. on disk, flash drive, by email). Treat all writing as formal, academic writing, even on the class blog. All papers must follow the manuscript format outlined by the assignment. All papers must use MLA citation and documentation conventions. All papers must be neatly printed (in black), stapled in the top, left-hand corner if necessary, and not be three-hole punched. Papers that do not follow these format guidelines will not be accepted. They will be returned unread to you. Papers will be regarded as late until they are resubmitted in the proper format.
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Finding HelpWe are available during office hours and by appointment to help you. We encourage you to come see us early in the quarter even if it is just to talk about the class, about the assignments, or about school in general. We may ask you to meet with us when we think a conference would be useful. Our offices are located on the ground floor of Padelford Hall (northeast of the HUB). Ed's office is in B-33. Tim's office is in A-307. See http://www.washington.edu/home/maps/northcentral.html?pdl.
We are also available electronically by email and the course blog. Email and the blog are the best means of contacting us. We will do our best to answer your emails and blog posts, usually within twenty-four hours. If there is an emergency and you need to reach us, please contact the CHID office in B-102 Padelford.
We will also supplement our office hours with virtual hours via instant messenger. Ed uses AOL
Instant Messenger and Google Talk (AIM & Gtalk nickname: EDagogy); Tim just uses Google Talk (Gtalk nickname: tim.j.welsh).
If we are logged in, during reasonable hours, you are more than welcome to discuss the class or ask
questions. Please, when you initiate an IM conversation for the first time, please identify yourself to
us -- be polite and respectful -- and please be patient because our responses may not be immediate.
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Contact Ed
Contact Tim
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Academic DishonestyPlagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else's ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people's thoughts and writing -- as long as you cite them. Many students do not have a clear understanding of what constitutes plagiarism, so feel free to ask questions about these matters at any time. Plagiarism includes:
• a student failing to cite sources of ideas If you have any doubt about how to cite or acknowledge another's writing, please talk to me. It is always better to be safe than sorry. As a matter of policy, any student found to have plagiarized any piece of writing in this class will be immediately reported to the College of Arts and Sciences for review. For further information, please refer to UW's Student Conduct Code at http://www.washington.edu/students/handbook/conduct.html. Play it smart, don't plagiarize!
Accommodations
If you have a registered disability that will require accommodation, please see me
immediately. If you have a disability and have not yet registered it with Disability
Resources for Students in 448 Schmitz Hall, you should do so immediately. Please
contact DRS at 206-543-8924 (Voice) or 206-543-8925 (V/TTY) or 206-616-8379 (FAX) or
via their website at
http://www.washington.edu/admin/ada/dss.htm.
I will gladly do my best to provide appropriate accommodation you require.
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