Readings

SES # TOPICS READINGS
1 Introduction Mills, C. Wright. Excerpt from The Sociological Imagination. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN: 9780195133738. [Preview with Google Books]
2 Socio–technical Systems

Winner, Langdon. "Do Artifacts have Politics?" In The Social Shaping of Technology. McGraw Hill Education / Open University, 1999. ISBN: 9780335199136.

Malaby, Thomas M. "Beyond Play: A New Approach to Games." Games and Culture 2, no. 2 (2007): 95–113. (Sage Publications)

Buy at MIT Press Hughes, Linda. "Beyond the Rules of the Game: Why Are Rooie Rules Nice?" In The Game Design Reader: A Rules of Play Anthology. MIT Press, 2005. ISBN: 9780262195362.

Taylor, T. L. "The Assemblage of Play." Games and Culture 4, no. 4 (2009): 331–9. (Sage Publications)
3 Embodiment & Materiality

Dovey, Jon, and Helen W. Kennedy. "Bodies and Machines: Cyborg Subjectivity and Gameplay." In Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media (Issues in Culture and Media Studies). Open University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780335213573. [Preview with Google Books]

Kirkpatrick, Graeme. "Controller, Hand, Screen: Aesthetic Form in the Computer Game." Games and Culture 4, no. 2 (2008): 127–143. (Sage Publications)

Flynn, Bernadette. "Geography of the Digital Hearth." Information, Communication & Society 6, no. 4 (2003): 551–76. (Routledge)

Tobin, Samuel. "I'd Rather Sit and Play: Mobile Videogames at Home." In Portable Play in Everyday Life: The Nintendo DS. Palgrave Pivot, 2013. ISBN: 9781137396587. [Preview with Google Books]
4 Gender (Basics)

West, Candace, and Don H. Zimmerman. "Doing Gender." In The Social Construction of Gender. Sage Publications, 1990. ISBN: 9780803939578.

Jordan–Zachery, Julia S. "Am I a Black Woman or a Woman Who Is Black? A Few Thoughts on the Meaning of Intersectionality." Politics & Gender 3, no. 2 (2007): 254–63.

Pascoe, C. J. "Making Masculinity: Adolescence, Identity, and High School." In Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. University of California Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780520252301. [Preview with Google Books]

Connell, R. W., and James W. Messerschmidt. "Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept." Gender & Society 19, no. 6 (2005): 829–59. (Sage Publications)

Optional

McIntosh, Peggy. This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader."White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack." (PDF) 1998.
5 Gender & Gaming

Buy at MIT Press Lin, Holin. "Body, Space, and Gendered Gaming Experiences: A Cultural Geography of Homes, Cybercafes, and Dormitories." In Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming. MIT Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780262113199.

Yee, Nick. This resource may not render correctly in a screen reader."Maps of Digital Desires: Exploring the Topography of Gender and Play in Online Games." (PDF) 2008.

Carr, Diane. "Contexts, Gaming Pleasures, and Gendered Preferences." Simulation and Gaming 36, no. 4 (2005): 464–82. (Sage Publications)

Witkowski, Emma. "Eventful Masculinities: Negotiations of Hegemonic Sporting Masculinities at LANs." In Sports Videogames. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 9780415637565. [Preview with Google Books]
6 Race, Sexuality, and Queering Game Design

Hall, Stuart. "The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media." In Gender, Race and Class in Media — A Text Reader. Sage Publications, 1995.

Leonard, David. "Virtual Gangstas, Coming to a Surburban House Near You: Demonization, Commodification, and Policing Blackness." In The Meaning and Culture of Grand Theft Auto: Critical Essay. McFarland and Company, 2006. ISBN: 9780786428229. [Preview with Google Books]

Shaw, Adrienne. "Putting the Gay in Games: Cultural Production and GLBT Content in Video Games." Games and Culture 4, no. 3 (2009): 228–53. (Sage Publications)

Harvey, Alison. "Twine's Revolution: Democratization, Depoliticization, and the Queering of Game Design." Game: The Italian Journal Of Game Studies, no. 3 (2004).

Pascoe, C. J. "Adolescent Male Homophobia." In Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School. University of California Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780520252301. [Preview with Google Books]
7 Community

Silverman, Mark, and Bart Simon. "Discipline and Dragon Kill Points in the Online Power Game." Games and Culture 4, no. 4 (2009): 353–78. (Sage Publications)

Steinkuehler, Constance. "The Mangle of Play." Games and Culture 1, no. 3 (2006): 199–213. (Sage Publications)

Kou, Yubo, and Bonnie Nardi. "Regulating Anti–social Behavior on the Internet: The Example of League of Legends." iConference 2013 Proceedings (2013): 616–22.

Wellman, Barry, and Gulia, Milena. "Net Surfers Don't Ride Alone: Virtual Communities as Communities." 1997. (Routledge)
8 Co–creativity & Labor

Banks, John, and Sal Humphreys. "The Labour of User Co-creators: Emergent Social Network Markets?" Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 14, no. 4 (2008): 401–18. (Sage Publications)

Dovey, Jon, and Helen W. Kennedy. "Interventions and Recuperations?" In Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media (Issues in Culture and Media Studies). Open University Press, 2006. ISBN: 9780335213573. [Preview with Google Books]

Dyer–Witherford, Nick, and Greig de Peuter. "Immaterial Labor: A Workers' History of Videogaming." In Games of Empire: Global Capitalism and Video Games. University of Minnesota Press, 2009. ISBN: 9780816666119. [Preview with Google Books]
9 E–sports & Competitive Gaming

Witowski, Emma. "On the Digital Playing Field: How We "Do Sport" with Networked Computer Games." Games and Culture 7, no. 5 (2012): 349–74. (Sage Publications)

Taylor, Nicholas, Jen Jenson, et al. "Cheerleaders / Booth Babes / Halo Hoes: Pro–gaming, Gender and Jobs for the Boys." Digital Creativity 20, no. 4 (2009): 239–52.

Burk, Dan L. "Owning E–sports: Proprietary Rights in Professional Computer Gaming." University of Pennsylvania Law Review 161, no. 6 (2013): 1535–78.
10 Performance & Spectatorship

McCrea, Christian. "Watching StarCraft, Strategy and South Korea." In Gaming Cultures and Place in Asia–pacific. Routledge, 2009. ISBN: 9780415996273. [Preview with Google Books]

Lin, Holin, and Chuen–Tsai Sun. "The Role of Onlookers in Arcade Gaming: Frame Analysis of Public Behaviours." Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 17, no. 2 (2011): 125–37. (Sage Publications)

Lowood, Henry. "'It's Not Easy being Green': Real–time Game Performance in Warcraft." In Videogame, Player, Text. Manchester University Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780719074011.

Walker, Austin. "Watching Us Play: Postures and Platforms of Live Streaming." Surveillance & Society 12, no. 3 (2014): 437–42.
11 Sports Videogames

Lowood, Henry. "Joga Bonito: Beautiful Play, Sports and Digital Games." In Sports Videogames. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 9780415637565. [Preview with Google Books]

Stein, Abe. "Playing the Game on Television." In Sports Videogames. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 9780415637565. [Preview with Google Books]

Sicart, Miguel. "A Tale of Two Games." In Sports Videogames. Routledge, 2013. ISBN: 9780415637565. [Preview with Google Books]

Optional

Robinson, Jon. "It's Not In the Game: Eight Features the NFL Made EA Sports Remove from 'Madden'." SportsIllustrated.com, March 12, 2014.

Stein, Abe. "Can Madden Shift Attitudes on Player Safety?" Kill Screen, September 18, 2013.
12 Final Presentations No new readings assigned.
13 Final Presentations (cont.) No new readings assigned.
14 Last Session No new readings assigned.