HIST4540 · History
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
Video games provide a way for people to explore history beyond the written page. Not only does the visual aspect of those games allow users a multi-sensory engagement with history, but the ability to act in those spaces encourages people to think about history as a space in which people acted and made choices. Using material including the Assassins Creed series as well as a handful of arthouse games, this class first asks students to examine the expression of historical space and agency. The class then has students working in the classroom, in BCs data visualization lab, and in the Hatchery (the makerspace) to learn 3d modeling as well as how to build small, interactive virtual reality (VR) environments with tiny, historically themed games. In so doing, students will engage in the practice of building puzzles and narrative storytelling.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
4.1 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.2 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.1 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.3 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2024
1 section