Academic Play: How Games Can Be a Part of Your University Curriculum

Lead Presenter/Facilitator: Kevin Schut, Trinity Western University

Additional Presenters: Brad Hickey (Dordt University), David Dockery, Texas A & M University

Description: Games often have a bad reputation in educated and Christian circles: time wasters, violent, and addictive, depending on who is complaining. But they are also a unique medium for creative expression and deep thinking, a massive part of today’s global economy, and a very significant site of community building. This is a sector of culture worth engaging, both as a builder and critic, but many academics feel unequipped to do so, and many faith-based institutions especially are uncomfortable with games. From a Christian perspective, however, this doesn’t have to be the case. This session is designed for administrators and scholars who are interested in making games part of their university curriculum and culture. We will address three very different approaches to bring games to campus. First, we’ll talk about gaming and e-sports as a part of the student life on your campus with pioneer Brad Hickey of Dordt University, who has built a vibrant gaming culture on his campus, as well as an educational program for missional gaming. Second, we will consider how universities can make games part of their curriculum with gaming scholar David Dockery of Texas A&M. Third, we will talk about building a program to train students to work in the games industry with Kevin Schut, who build the Game Development program at Trinity Western University.

Kevin Schut (PhD, University of Iowa) is a Game Studies scholar. He is a graduate of Calvin College (Grand Rapids, MI; BA in Communication Arts & Sciences, History, 1996) and the University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA; MA & PhD in Communication Studies, 2004). He wrote the book Of Games & God: A Christian Exploration of Video Games (2013). He writes about the intersection of communication, culture, media, technology and faith, primarily by talking about computer and video games. He has published articles or chapters on fantasy-role-playing computer games and masculinity, on computer games and myth, on the presentation of history in computer games, and on evangelicals and games. He is currently researching moral and ethical decisions in video games. Kevin served as the Chair of the Department of Media + Communication, and he is the Lead for the Game Development program he founded in June 2019. He has also served as Associate Dean of the School of the Arts, Media + Culture. He teaches a range of courses on media and culture. Kevin grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and still cheers for the Oilers. After graduating from Calvin College, he married and taught overseas in schools for missionary kids in the Cote d’Ivoire and Hungary for three and a half years. He has three daughters who love playing board games, adventure games, Mario Kart, and Vive Virtual Reality with him. His favorite game series is Sid Meier’s Civilization. Connect with Kevin here: https://www.twu.ca/profile/kevin-schut.

Brad Hickey (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) wrote his dissertation on engaging gaming culture through a Kuyperian Reformed worldview. Dr. Hickey has published articles and book reviews on sites such as Think Christian and Christian Scholar’s Review and is currently under contract with Cascade Books to produce a forthcoming theological volume on faith and gaming. He serves as the Director of Gaming and teaches introductory theology and gaming courses at Dordt University in Northwest Iowa where he resides with his wife, two daughters, and numerous adorable cats. Learn more about Brad here.

David Dockery (Texas A & M University) is a doctoral student active in the areas of Religious Communication and Game Studies. He is interested in how digital games enable players to explore ideas of the sacred. These can include exploration of sacred spaces, participation in narratives of the sacred, and mythologies embedded in the world of the game. Some of his favorite games to play and analyze are Elden Ring, Minecraft, Civilizations VI, Battlefield, and Total War. He has previously done research in the field of rhetorical history, with a special interest in the rhetoric of the Founding Generation. His M.A. thesis was on interpretation of the Declaration of Independence as a way of arbitrating public moral controversies. Most of all, he welcomes a good conversation. David received his B.S. in Communication from Tennessee Tech University. He went on to receive an M.A. in Communication from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Afterward, he was excited to accept an opportunity to study in the Texas A&M doctoral program. Learn more about David here.