About the class, she says, “This class explores the social and moral implications of video game play. Video games are a substantial part of our culture and we need to look into how they affect us.”

The class will examine how we are affected by video games in areas of personal identity, how women are portrayed, our perceived reality versus the fantasy world and the impact of violence in games. A plethora of games ranging many genres will be analyzed and used as examples in the class in an attempt to avoid the “one game is indicative of the entire industry” trap (Hot Coffee, anyone?) so many researchers and educators fall into when discussing video games.

“We’ll be reading articles from philosophy, communication studies, video games journalism and psychology. We’ll look at how do video games play into theories of personal identity? What are the potential positive impacts of growing up on video games? What are the negative impacts? Do they cause aggression or do they encourage cooperation?”

I just wish a class like this existed when I was in school. Perhaps I wouldn’t have the sour attitude I have today regarding Philosophy. The best part of this class is more than it’s just about a cool subject we all love. This is a true and fair examination of video games in an educational venue that will further legitimate the study of the media in all areas of academia. Hopefully, this will open more eyes in the educational community to the merits of the medium and recognize the impact video games have on our culture and our lives.

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