Fall 2020 - CMNS 386 E200
Special Topics in Communication (4)
Class Number: 8848
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 9 – Dec 8, 2020: Tue, 5:30–8:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Aleena Leng An Chia
lenganc@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
Depends on topic, published before enrollment.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Intensive analysis of a particular topic in the general area of communication. This course can be repeated for credit up to a maximum of three times, if topic studied is different.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course introduces the critical study of games as media texts and creative industries by examining emergent issues and practices around the play, design, and reception of digital games. We will survey a range of theoretical approaches to games as well as interrelated cultural, political, and material aspects of digital and analogue games. We will also engage in applied work including gameplay, gameplay reflections, and low-fidelity game making exercises. This course proceeds in three thematic sections that build on each other, which explore games as (I) media texts, (II) cultural contexts, and (III) systems of productivity. These themes cover the forms, narratives, aesthetics, discourses, practices, economics, and governance of play, through a sustained interrogation of the politics of gender, race, sexuality, class, and ability. This course will not train students on how to design games and no previous experience with videogames is necessary. Students should be prepared to devote some time outside of class to playing video games on a variety of accessible platforms as well as to critical reading, making, and writing.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2020
Teaching at SFU in fall 2020 will be conducted primarily through remote methods. There will be in-person course components in a few exceptional cases where this is fundamental to the educational goals of the course. Such course components will be clearly identified at registration, as will course components that will be “live” (synchronous) vs. at your own pace (asynchronous). Enrollment acknowledges that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes. To ensure you can access all course materials, we recommend you have access to a computer with a microphone and camera, and the internet. In some cases your instructor may use Zoom or other means requiring a camera and microphone to invigilate exams. If proctoring software will be used, this will be confirmed in the first week of class.
Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need class or exam accommodations, including in the current context of remote learning, are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112).