CSS - 384 - Video Games: Identity and Representation

2025-2026 Undergraduate Course New

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  • Department*
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  • Subject*
    Course Number*
    384
    384
  • Title*
    Video Games: Identity and Representation
    Video Games: Identity and Representation
    Course titles longer than 30 characters will be abbreviated by the Registrar's Office.
  • Course Type*
  • Catalog Course Description*

    This course will critically examine the methods in which video games and video game culture contribute to the formation and interpretation of identity and representation. Topics include online identity, public and private space, game and “gamer” identity, accessibly, and the interactions of age, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class and economics.

    Write a concise catalog course description (125 words or less) for the college catalog, including the course goals and/or content.
  • Prerequisite:

    ENG 102

    Please indicate if prerequisite should include "or instructor permission". The college catalog specifies that courses at the 300 and 400 level are expected to have prerequisites. Try to avoid cascading prerequisites. Instead, include only the last course the student would be expected to take in sequence of courses. Be sure to specify “and” or “or” between prerequisite courses. It is not necessary to include a prerequisites’ own prerequisites. For example: if MAT 161 is the prerequisite to MAT 162, any course whose prerequisite is MAT 162 should not also list MAT 161 as a prerequisite. Please note that minimum grade requirements for a major are not enforced course prerequisites. If a minimum grade is part of a course prerequisite, please be sure to list that here.
  • Should the prerequisite also include "or instructor permission"?*
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  • Co-requisite:
    Indicate any course the student is also required to take along with this new course.
  • Equivalent Course:
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  • Offered:*
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  • Credit:*
    3
    3
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  • Is this course repeatable?*
  • Repeat Credit Limit
    Enter the maximum number of credits the student can earn for all instances of this course.
  • Is there a lab associated with this course?*
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    (i.e. BIO 110)
  • How many credits is the lab?
  • Grade Mode*
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  • Institutional Research Special Section Attributes
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  • Is this new course to be added to an "area of study" within a major/minor?*
    Examples of "areas of study" /"concentration" include: Art: Art History Non-Western; History Western; History Modern or Contemporary; History Medieval/Renaissance; Museum Studies; Foundations; etc. English: Reading and Critical Methods; Literary Histories, Cultural Aesthetics & Transformations of Power (Before 1700, 1700-1900, After 1900); History: US History; European History; World Transnational/Comparative History; African, Asian or Latin American History
  • If yes, which area?

  • Justification

    Justify the need for the course in a particular program of study. Explain the unique contributions of this course within the canon of your offered courses. Include such details as: Targeted student population, rationale for class size, rationale for elective or required status, and why the course is offered at a particular level.

  • Justification of new course*

    This course directly addresses video games, video game gameplay, and community online spaces – game lobbies, twitch streams, multiplayer environments, socials – by requiring students to engage and critically examine what has become a collection of widely inclusive activities that have also at the same time created bastions of misogyny, racism, bigotry, homophobia, ethnocentrism, class disparagement, and age discrimination.

    Video games are comprised of genres that each draw from, express, and inform cultural, group and individual identity. The multitude of genres and participating audiences allow for players to experiment in interactive “what if” environments that become as essential as literature and film to understanding the human condition.

    Race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity are all topics expressed through video game narratives and video game gameplay. The expression of these topics in game and gaming communities are studied extensively by video game scholars in the many Video Game Studies programs at universities around the world. This course continues the tradition of applying critical theory to understanding the topics above through games, gameplay, and analysis of the surrounding communities.

    This course is of particular importance because it addresses the communities and cultures surrounding video games as essential to understanding the medium of video games. Gaming does not exist in a cultural vacuum, and this is especially true in our current post-covid era of streaming, multiplayer, and entire communities built upon and within online third space.  

    This course will be of particular interest to Cinema and Screen Studies students as video games, while separate from cinema through the interactive nature of gameplay, engage in the same storytelling methodologies as cinematic productions and can be examined through similar modes of criticism. Additionally, this course will appeal to students of all majors as video games and gaming culture has become such a ubiquitous element of modern culture.  

  • Course Information

    List the course objectives in measurable terms (i.e. list what the student is expected to do as a result of this course). Avoid non-measurable terms, such as: Understand, Familiarize, Appreciate, Help, Learn

    Unacceptable Examples:
    1. Students will understand important terms and events.
    2. Students will appreciate nuanced criticisms.

    Use measurable objectives:
    Critically Examine, Describe, Discuss and compare, Analyze and interpret, Demonstrate

    Acceptable Examples:
    1. Students will analyze and interpret important terms and events.
    2. Students will demonstrate informed criticism.
    3. Students will produce a project that will...
    4. Students will identify important historical resources...

  • Course Objectives*

    Successful completion of this course will allow students to apply the following to video games, video game gameplay, and video game communities:

    • Identify the historical and contemporary societal factors that shape the development of individual and group identity involving race, class, and gender
    • Analyze the role that complex networks of social structures and systems play in the creation and perpetuation of the dynamics of power, privilege, oppression, and opportunity
    • Students will identify the principles of rights, access, equity, and autonomous participation to past, current, or future social justice action.
  • Course Outline*

    This course will critically examine the methods in which video games and video game culture contribute to the formation and interpretation of identity and representation. Topics include online identity, public and private space, game and “gamer” identity, accessibly, and the interactions of age, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class and economics

     

     

     I: The Importance of Representation in Video Games and There is no such thing as a “Gamer.”

      • An introduction to the concept of “gamer” and what it means to participate in games and gaming communities. Develop an understanding of assumed identities – what we assume of others’ and ourselves – and a critical examination of representation in video games.
      •  

     II: Racism, Sexism, and Gaming’s Cruel Optimism and Who Can Play?

      • A deeper dive into the concepts from section I that specifically seek to examine the assentations that gaming and game communities are uniquely diverse and inclusive. An examination of the polarizing effect on communities that exist in echo chambers or based upon niche interests with overlapping political, economic, and social circumstances.   

     III: Women and Exclusionary Cultures and It’s Not Just About Looks

      • A more pointed examination into the cultural depths that harbor sexism, misogyny, and bigotry in video games, video game development, gameplay, and gaming communities.  

     IV: Twitch and Streaming

      • An examination of the complex nature of Twitch and online streaming. “How Twitch.tv is providing a safe space for individuals from all walks of life and creates opportunities (and empowerment) for new inclusive forms of communication for all.” But at the same time consolidating creative and critical reasoning into the productions of relatively few streamers and their production teams.  

     V: Racial Empathy: A Case Study of “Dystopian Blackness”

      • A critical examination of how video games treat race and ethnicity. Specifically, the varied and problematic methods in which games such as The Walking Dead and The Last of Us deploy and develop characters of color.

    VI: Continuation of Discussion V: Representing Race and Disability.

      • Case Study of games such as: GTA San Andres

     VII: Appropriating Video Games to Criticize Gender Norms

      • “…video games play an important role in the construction of gender identities, which are not…bound to biological features, but socially established through the repetition of similar behaviors, bodily practices, and discourses” – Trepanier-Jobin

     

    • VIII: Trans, Queer, and LGBTQ Communities
      • Continuation of Discussion VII while examining how the study of video games “provide a critical potential in addressing and analyzing a popular, mainstream titles as well as revealing the ways most digital games strategically deploy and ultimately recuperate queer possibilities.” – Chang
    Most course outlines contain the following: Course Content; Methods of Instruction; and Course Requirements. This may include: an outline, a bulleted list, or a prose description. UCC will not enforce a specific format for the Course Outline. If necessary, follow the expectations of your departments and/or programs particularly as they relate to other campus requirements, or the accreditation process (for example: General Education, the Schools of Education or Business, or the Art Department).
  • Methods of Evaluation*

    Evaluation of student learning will be based on attendance and participation in class activities and discussions; video assignments; content and quality of response papers on assigned media and texts; content and quality of final project.

    Describe the types of assignments or assessments that may be used to evaluate student learning outcomes. You should not specify the frequency, number or duration of these activities. For example- The methods of evaluation include: participation in classroom discussions, oral presentations, written projects, quizzes and exams.
  • Textbook(s)/Course materials*

    Students will need internet access and a computer able to load basic browser and word processor materials. Being able to play games is not required as YouTube, Twitch and other streaming services provide extensive gameplay footage. All readings and videos will be provided through Brightspace.

  • Bibliography*

    Below is a selection that also includes video game references. Some of the relevant games are older than five years which are relfected in the game selections and associated readings.

    Anthropy, Anna. Dy4ia. PC, 2012, https://editmedia.org/teaching-material/dy4ia-video-gameanna-anthropy-2012/.

    Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios, 2023, https://baldursgate3.game/.

    Bosworth, Katherine. “The Connection Between the LGBTQ+ Community and Video Games.” MDPI Blog, 6 June 2023, https://mdpiblog.wordpress.sciforum.net/2023/06/06/lgbtq-video-games/.

    Carr, Bryan. “Virtual Vision: Applying Cultural and Critical Theory to Video Game Aesthetics in Lollipop Chainsaw.” Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, vol. 28, no. 2, 2013. swecjmc-ojs-txstate.tdl.org, https://doi.org/10.58997/smc.v28i2.62.

    Chess, Shira, and Adrienne Shaw. “A Conspiracy of Fishes, or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying About #GamerGate and Embrace Hegemonic Masculinity.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 59, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 208–20. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2014.999917.

    Dewinter, Jennifer, and Carly Kocurek. “Women and the Exclusionary Cultures of the Computer Game Complex.” Gaming Representation : Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Video Games, edited by Jennifer Malkowski and TreaAndrea Russworm, pp. 57–73.

    Dimmick, Thomas. “There Is No Such Thing as a ‘Gamer.’” Identity and Online Advocacy, Debating Communities and Networks Conference XII, 2021, https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/04/25/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-gamer/.

    Dowling, David O., et al. “One Year of #GamerGate: The Shared Twitter Link as Emblem of Masculinist Gamer Identity.” Games and Culture, vol. 15, no. 8, Dec. 2020, pp. 982–1003. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412019864857.

    Emerging Issues Involving Gender and Religion Surface in Esports | Sports Litigation Alert. https://sportslitigationalert.com/emerging-issues-involving-gender-and-religion-surface-in-esports/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

    “Gaming at the Edge.” University of Minnesota Press, https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816693160/gaming-at-the-edge/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

    Gender Struggles: Female Representation in Video Games - INKspire. 30 May 2020, https://inkspire.org/post/gender-struggles-female-representation-in-video-games/-M7d51VKbu2OSfnfQ9am.

    Grand Theft Auto V. Rockstar North, Rockstar Games, 2015, https://www.rockstargames.com/gta-v.

    Henley, Stacey. “Stop Using Mods To Make Female Characters Prettier.” TheGamer, 1 Sept. 2023, https://www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-mods-beautiful/.

    Issanchon, Jessica. “How Twitch.Tv Is Providing a Safe Space for Individuals from All Walks of Life, and Creates Opportunities for New Inclusive Forms of Communication for All.” Communities and Social Media, Debating Communities and Networks Conference XII, 2021, https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/04/26/how-twitch-tv-is-providing-a-safe-space-for-individuals-from-all-walks-of-life-and-creates-opportunities-for-new-inclusive-forms-of-communication-for-all/.

    Jackson, Sarah J., et al. “#GirlsLikeUs: Trans Advocacy and Community Building Online.” New Media & Society, vol. 20, no. 5, May 2018, pp. 1868–88. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817709276.

    Kirk, Brodie. “Twitch.TV, Empowering Fan Communities.” Communities and Social Media, Debating Communities and Networks Conference XII, 2021, https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/04/28/twitch-tv-empowering-fan-communities/.

    Kruger, Simon. “Contemporary Gender Representation and Identity Diversity in Video Games.” Identity and Online Advocacy, Debating Communities and Networks Conference XII, 2021, https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/04/26/who_can_i_play/.

    LGBTQ+ People Love Video Games, but More Inclusion Is Needed. https://www.advocate.com/news/glaad-video-games-lgbtq-inclusivity. Accessed 22 Oct. 2024.

    Nakamura, Lisa. “Racism, Sexism, and Gaming’s Cruel Optimism.” Representation : Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Video Games, edited by Jennifer Malkowski, Indiana University Press, 2017, pp. 245–50.

    Papers, Please. Lucas Pope, 3909, 2013, https://papersplea.se/.

    Penini, Mattia. “Research Shows That Difficult Co-Op Games Can Create Better Relationships between Students.” Acer for Education, 6 Aug. 2021, https://acerforeducation.acer.com/education-trends/esports-in-education/research-co-op-games-better-relationships-students/.

    Rennick, Stephanie, et al. “Gender Bias in Video Game Dialogue.” Royal Society Open Science, vol. 10, no. 5, May 2023, p. 221095. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221095.

    Russworm, TreaAndrea. “DYSTOPIAN BLACKNESS AND THE LIMITS OF RACIAL EMPATHY IN THE WALKING DEAD AND THE LAST OF US.” ; ; Gaming Representation : Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Video Games, edited by Jennifer Malkowski and TreaAndrea Russworm, pp. 109–28.

    Sjöblom, Max, et al. “The Ingredients of Twitch Streaming: Affordances of Game Streams.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 92, Mar. 2019, pp. 20–28. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.012.

    The Expanse: A Telltale Series. Deck Nine, Telltale, 2023, https://telltale.com/the-expanse/.

    “The State Of Diversity In Big Budget Video Games.” Kotaku, 5 Jan. 2021, https://kotaku.com/the-state-of-diversity-in-big-budget-video-games-1845994350.

    The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series. Skybound Games, Skybound Games, 2020, https://store.steampowered.com/app/1449690/The_Walking_Dead_The_Telltale_Definitive_Series/.

    This War of Mine. 11 bit studios, 2014, https://www.thiswarofmine.com/.

    Wijaya, Christabel. “It’s Not Just about the ‘Looks’. Sincerely, from All the Girls in the Gaming Industry.” Communities and Social Media, Debating Communities and Networks Conference XII, 2021, https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2021/2021/05/08/its-not-just-about-the-looks-sincerely-from-all-the-girls-in-the-gaming-industry/.

    Wilson, Sasha. “GenderSexuality and Gender Breaking the Mould: The Importance of Representation in Video Games.” Rock & Art: Cultural Outreach, Sept. 2023, https://www.rockandart.org/the-importance-of-representation-in-video-games/.

    Provide a current bibliography that reflects course content (within last 5 years), written in a consistent style (such as APA, MLA, etc.). If there are no recent works, justify why.
  • Library Resources*

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    Indicate the computer technology resources and/or computer lab software, etc. (for faculty or students) that you intend to use, or are currently using, when offering this course. If you will need additional resources, please contact Campus Technology Services, or if appropriate, the Chief Technology Officer.
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