New Game Studies Course is Hiring a Teaching Assisstant

Journalism 1501 is a brand new game studies course that’s being offered this fall semester and the instructor is looking to hire one additional teaching assistant to help with this new class. Ideally, the TA, whether a graduate student or an advanced undergraduate student, would bring expertise in areas such as game design, mobile apps (programming or design), software development, or another domain related to gaming.

 

You can send applications or any questions that you may have directly to Seth Lewis, the course instructor. Good luck to everyone that applies!

 
Jour 1501 — Digital Games, Sims and Apps: Storytelling, Play and Commerce

 

School of Journalism & Mass Communication
Tues/Thurs 11:15-12:30
University of Minnesota
Course Debut: Fall 2014
Taught by: Seth Lewis, assistant professor, [email protected]
(faculty bio: http://sjmc.umn.edu/people/profile.php?UID=sclewis)
 

Digital games are one of the fastest-growing sectors of the entertainment media industry, generating enormous profits for game companies and having a wide-ranging impact on our culture and society. Related developments in mobile applications and virtual-reality simulations are also becoming more than big business — they’re changing the very way we think about media, (augmented) reality, and our human relationships.
 
In this course, students will:
 
– Be introduced to the academic study of video games, computer simulations, and mobile applications.
– Examine digital games as forms of communication and interactive storytelling, as well as games as entertainment, in commerce, for social activism, in professional training, and in education.
– Consider the social impact of smartphones, their applications, and their uses in contemporary life — both for game play as well as communication more generally.
– Discuss next-generation virtual reality technology that may change the way we think about immersive media experiences.
– Study the history, ethics, and socio-cultural impact of digital games and related technologies.