Course info

In this first part of the module "Japan's Digital Cultures" we will learn about, discuss and explore videogame cultures in Japan. The course is split into three parts. In the first part, it offers an introduction to game studies and to the history of videogames in Japan. Here, participants will review existing literature and establish a general sense of what videogame culture is in the context of contemporary culture, and how we might approach it. In the second part, our guest lecturer Hiroshi Yoshida from Japan will discuss the idea of self-referentiality and in-game games in depth. Following this discussion, each participant will engage in an individual, empirical research project on a self-chosen question in the third part. Participants will be guided by a tutor, who provides help with designing the research project, and will have access to the [j]Games Lab and support for using its infrastructure.
The deliverable in this course consists in a draft version of the research project and its results. Publication in the open access online journal ReVisions as part of the section “Working Papers in Game Studies”, is possible. The results and work on the research project will be used as a basis for the second course of the module (summer semester 2018), in which we will discuss, refine and further develop the ideas and findings from course I within the broader context of digital cultures.
First meeting: October 16, 15:00, in front of the entrance to “Campus Library” (Universitätsstr. 3, inside the lecture building “Hörsaalgebäude”)