Courses: history of Western culture and analysis of contemporary conflicts (internal and external), politics of American fantasy films, politics in video games and theme parks Every book after spot 8 is used only in short excerpts
Spring '23 Class Readings Unlisted
Created by FossilPoet
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Fantasy Cinema by David Butler (Short Cuts)
4 stars
Often dismissed as simple tales of sword and sorcery, fantasy is one of the fundamental impulses in filmmaking, a source …
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Transgression in Games and Play by Kristine Jørgensen, Faltin Karlsen, Jaakko Stenros, and 14 others
5 stars
Contributors from a range of disciplines explore boundary-crossing in videogames, examining both transgressive game content and transgressive player actions.
Video …
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Values at Play in Digital Games by Mary Flanagan, Helen Nissenbaum
4 stars
A theoretical and practical guide to integrating human values into the conception and design of digital games.
All games express …
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A Reader in Themed and Immersive Spaces by Scott A. Lukas, Filippo Carlà, Cornelius Holtorf, and 20 others
Since the late 2000s, the themed space has been the subject of widespread analysis and criticism in academic communities as …
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Wandering Games by Melissa Kagen
5 stars
An analysis of wandering within different game worlds, viewed through the lenses of work, colonialism, gender, and death.
Wandering in …
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Adventure Games by Aaron A. Reed, Anastasia Salter, John Murray (Approaches to Digital Game Studies)
4 stars
The genre of adventure games is frequently overlooked. Lacking the constantly-evolving graphics and graphic violence of their counterparts in first-person …
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Playing War by Matthew Thomas Payne
No video game genre has been more popular or more lucrative in recent years than the “military shooter.” Franchises such …
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4 stars
George Orwell's timeless and timely allegorical novel—a scathing satire on a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism.
“All animals are …
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Hitchcock's Films Revisited by Robin Wood, Wood, Robin
When Hitchcock's Films was first published, it quickly became known as a new kind of book on film and as …
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Flaming Classics by Alexander Doty
This lively, opinionated, and playful look at the movies is a must-read for film buffs, and for anyone interested in …
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Framing Monsters by Joshua David Bellin
The canon of popular cinema has long been rife with fantastic tales, yet critical studies have too often expediently mixed …
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Marxism and Literature by Raymond Williams (Marxist Introductions)
4 stars
This book extends the theme of Raymond Williams's earlier work in literary and cultural analysis. He analyzes previous contributions to …
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The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim
3 stars
"A charming book about enchantment, a profound book about fairy tales."—John Updike, The New York Times Book Review Bruno Bettelheim …
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Classic Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar
"This is a superb anthology of fairy tales and criticism that is perfect for classroom use. It provides an excellent …
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Film Theory and Criticism by Marshall Cohen, Leo Braudy, Vsevolod Pudovkin, and 51 others
3 stars
Brought up to date with an expanded range of selections, extended historical coverage, and a dedicated pluralistic commitment, the third …
