REL 167 - Introduction to Religion through Video Games

This conference explores the medium of video games within the context of the intersection of two dynamic fields of inquiry: religious studies and media studies. Readings drawn from video games studies will encourage students to think about the narrative themes of select games as well as the procedures that games require from their players. Readings drawn from the study of religion will support a critical examination and analysis of various video games, paying particular attention to myth and ritual, both inside the game and out. Games explored include: Doom, Dark Souls, the Red Dead Redemption Series, and Cyberpunk 2077. The semester ends with a focus on esports and game fandoms as analogues to religious communities and challenges students to ask: what makes a community religious?

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group II
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Evaluate data and/or sources.
Analyze institutions, formations, languages, structures, or processes, whether social, political, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual or other.
Think in sophisticated ways about causation, social and/or historical change, human cognition, or the relationship between individuals and society, or engage with social, political, religious or economic theory in other areas.