After many years of being relegated to marginalized subcultures, role-playing games (RPGs) are experiencing a renaissance. From Stranger Things and Community to Critical Role and Dimension 20, RPGs are appearing more frequently in and are more accepted by mainstream cultures. At the same time, independent designers are publishing a stunning variety of games, engaging with diverse mechanics, structures, and themes, often creating venues fostering self-reflection, social critique, and expanded perspectives on the world. This class aims to bring this creative efflorescence into the classroom in order to explore key issues in the humanities, with a focus on Japanese art history as a case study.

Although we will focus on tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGS), we will also consider computer/console RPGs (CRPGs), board games, and "game adjacent" practices and structures, including aspects of religious cultures, literature, performance art, and philosophy.

Various educators have begun to explore "classroom role-playing games" (what I abbreviate as CR-RPGs) in K-12 and higher education. However, the movement is only in its infancy and such games usually only appear as no more than minor supplements to more conventional curricula. Many of the experiments in the humanities have taken the form of historical simulations, but the full potential of diverse RPGs of recent times has yet to be tapped.

This class invites you to take the next step in developing CR-RPGs, thoroughly integrating elements of tabletop games into a semester-long exploration of historical and cultural topics. Throughout the semester, we will explore techniques of collaborative storytelling, world-building, solo journaling, and various aspects of game design to cultivate skills of historical and cultural empathy, imagination, self-reflection, critical thinking, and analysis. Together, we will use modified game structures to imagine ways of bringing diverse thinkers (including you) into the dialogues and processes of knowledge creation and interpretation… Along the way, we hope to have a lot of fun!

Are you ready to join us at the table?

Textbooks/Other Materials: All readings will be provided as pdfs, but students are encouraged to purchase one or more role-playing or other games for their research.

Course Requirements:

Assignments and rubrics will be determined in consultation with the students in the seminar, but tentatively, the requirements would likely include:
• attendance and engagement (40%)
• journal (10%)
• a "Choose Your Own Adventure" project (25%) in which you will study an object or set of objects, connect your topic to broader stories in the course, and present your findings to your classmates
• a game designed by you (individually or in teams, 25%) that will be based on original research and playtested in the classroom

  Intended Audience): Although experience in gaming, game design, Asian Studies, and art history are all helpful, no prior knowledge or experience is required. All are welcome!

  Class Format: Two 80-minute seminar meetings per week for 7 weeks.

  Estimated Cost of Materials: $0-50

  HISTART Concentration Distributions: Asia (Includes China, Japan, India, South/Southeast Asia and the Pacific), Transhistorical