GS222 - Special Topics:

Selected topics will be discussed and will vary from year to year.

.25 or .5 or 1 unit — Byrnes, Chui, Djinovic, Getty, Gray, Green, Hinkle, Light, Miller-Stevens, Otake, Popovic, Sarkowsky, Stoller, Wiehe, Woodard, de Araujo

Previously Featured Offering

American Origins of Non-violence Study explores the unsung heroes of America's nonviolent social change movements. Students will examine of the works of nonviolent groups, such as prison reformers and abolitionists, to better understand how these unnamed people have contributed to social change.
American Origins of Non-violence Study
Martin Luther King, Jr. said America is the greatest purveyor of violence in history. A different story celebrates the contributions of Quakers, Anabaptists, abolitionists, prison reformers, labor unions, women, minorities, environmentalists and others who firmly established the power and effectiveness of nonviolence as an organizing principle. The course explores some of these Americans and their work through the lens of active nonviolence.
From the earliest 2D games (Space Invaders, Pong, Pac-Man) to the open environments of Grand Theft Auto and World of Warcraft, this course examines the worlds, characters, and narratives of videogames.
Videogames are a medium constituted by technical, aesthetic, and cultural compromises.
Videogames are a medium constituted by technical, aesthetic, and cultural compromises.
As systems of play, games produce meaning through the establishment and exploration of complex rules. The reliance on arbitrary rules distinguishes videogames from other aspects of life (Why does Mario have three lives?), even as the advancement of graphic engines and modes of interactivity increasingly break down divisions between game and world. Accordingly, this course examines the various ways in which videogames intersect with and borrow from other modes of play, performance, and artistic/cultural/political expression.

The course begins with a survey of videogame history and the major concepts/debates surrounding the emerging field of game studies. We then consider the aesthetic intersections between videogames and cinema, both in popular forms of “machinima” and in more experimental practices. Finally, we examine at the various ways in which videogames operate throughout popular culture: in the emerging field of “persuasive” or political games, as allegories of digital culture, and as agents in the development of individual and collective identity.

Offerings

Term Block Title Instructor Location Student Limit/Available Updated
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: State of the Rockies Research and Reporting Katrina-Kat Miller-Stevens See Prof. 003 25 / 24 12/23/2024
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: CC Elevate Topic Details Brett Gray, Aaron Stoller See Prof. 003 25 / 18 12/23/2024
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: CC Elevate Topic Details Jane Byrnes, Aaron Stoller See Prof. 003 25 / 15 12/23/2024
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: CC Elevate Topic Details Leo White, Aaron Stoller See Prof. 003 25 / 18 12/23/2024
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: CC Elevate Topic Details Jarred Wiehe, Aaron Stoller See Prof. 003 25 / 14 12/23/2024
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: CC Elevate Topic Details Christine Green, Aaron Stoller See Prof. 003 25 / 17 12/23/2024
Fall 2024 Block 1 Special Topics: Senior Seminar Pedro de Araujo TBA 25 / 24 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: Communications Studies: Peer Tutoring and Communication Strategies Topic Details Sarah Hinkle Tutt Library 317 25 / 18 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: R You Ready?! Starting with R and Data Visualization Topic Details Karen Chui Tutt Library 105 25 / 0 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: Campaigning for Social Change in the Digital Era Topic Details Srda Popovic Palmer Hall 13 32 / 23 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: Sound Design and Music for Live Performance Topic Details Max Sarkowsky Cornerstone Art Center 308 25 / 4 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: Full of Stories: Interdisciplinary Arts and Episodic Knowledge Topic Details Eiko Otake Cornerstone Art Center 130 25 / 9 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: Materials Science Research Incubator Topic Details Adam Light Olin Hall 270 10 / 2 12/23/2024
Spring 2025 Block H Special Topics: Internship and Job Search Strategies for Liberal Arts Students Topic Details Brett Woodard Palmer Hall CommonRoom 25 / 0 12/23/2024
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