Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 15, No. 30.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 06:27:12 +0100
From: lachance@chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance)
Subject: play game program
Willard,
Goldfarb, Pepper and Ensign write in their introduction to the _SGML
Buyer's Guide_ (1998) suggest that, in the emerging publishing context,
"content is becoming increasingly interactive" and that people "expect
electronic documents to be part reference, part expert system, part
computer game" (xxxi). This reminds me of Peter Shillingsburg who in his
contribution to _The Literary Text in the Digital Age_ writes:
<cite> The software design [of an electronic edition] should incorporate
the ideal that interaction with the material is desirable. Display of
materials to a passive observer is not the only goal. The user must have
liberty to navigate the materials at will. The user should have the option
of entering parts of the program that are "tutorial" and that promote the
user to react to challenges and suggestions. (p. 33) </cite>
Two questions, one of corpra, the other of curricula:
1.
Are there any Humanities Computing projects that incorporate game
elements? If so, is there a listing of such projects?
2.
Does the anthropology of games feature in any of the MA programs currently
offered or being developed in the field of Humanities Computing?
Of course, one can think of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and other
pedagogical software making great use of games to make drill engaging. One
can think of popular commercial offerings such as Mavis Beacon Teaches
Typing. In terms of curricula addressing this area, one can think of the
training that pedagogues receive in faculties of education. I may have the
mistaken impression, that given the disciplinary boundaries of many an
academic institution and given reward systems that differentially value
teaching and research, such considerations have not been duly examined by
the practitioners and planners of Humanities Computing. It seems to me
that the skills relating to programming and to multimedia authoring
dovetail nicely with formal aspects of games (rule following and
manipulation).
My perception of the status quo may no doubt be influenced by the position
occupied by composition and rhetoric as well as language learning in North
American colleges and universities and therefore myopic or tone deaf.
-- Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/portfolio/24doz/stroby.htm
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