Video Games and Human Values Initiative

A new kind of conversation about games in culture

Interdisciplinary nexus based at UConn for the study of how video games are building up society. Online courses, symposia, and fellowships.

The Senior Fellows of the VGHVI

Roger Travis (Director), Classics, University of Connecticut

Michael Abbott, Theater, Wabash College

Jeff Howard, Game Design, Dakota State University

Michael Young, Education, University of Connecticut

Kirstie Farrar, Communication Sciences, University of Connecticut

Kevin Roebuck, Sun Microsystems

Gary English, Drama, University of Connecticut

Mark Pearsall, Classics, Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury CT

Manuela Wagner, German, University of Connecticut

Sara Johnson, Classics, University of Connecticut

James Portnow, Divide by Zero Games

Stephen Schafer, English, Digipen University

Members

  • David Carlton
  • Justin Keverne
  • Roger Travis
  • DocBadwrench
  • Jay Pennington (aka LASSIE)
  • Nick LaLone
  • Jonathan Mills
  • Shane Hinton
  • Peter Hess
  • Erik Hanson
  • Michael Abbott
  • Maggie Greene
  • Gabriel Heinrichs
  • Jorge Pesok
  • Craig
  • Zachary Reese
 

Welcome to VGHVI!

The Video Games and Human Values Initiative is an interdisciplinary nexus for online courses and online scholarly activities like symposia, research fellowships, and our journal, Proceedings of the VGHVI (see tab above). All these activities are designed to advance our understanding of how video games and their culture can shape our values constructively for the enrichment of society.

This social network is the hub, but there's one spoke that's of crucial importance, our wiki. If you're here, you should be there, too. Among other things, it's got a page devoted to the logistics of getting all of us playing together. You need to request membership to take full advantage of what a wiki can do, but I promise it's painless.

And once you've done that, I urge you also to subscribe to the RSS feed for the VGHVI blog (also to be found below). It's the best way to keep up-to-date with what's going on here.

This is an open group, so please join up if you want to take part in our new interdisciplinary, interinstitutional, even ecumenical conversation about video games, and to help shape its future. The initiative is for gamers and non-gamers, academics and non-academics, students and teachers, parents and their high-school and college kids. That is, it's for you--so don't hesitate to join if you're excited--or concerned--about what video games are doing in our society.

Here's a little video UConn did about one of the Living Epic courses, CAMS 3208 (Gaming) Homer. Enjoy!

Here's a link to the site for the "Living Epic" three-week course, to be offered again at a time TBA; here's one for our multiplayer planning page.

Blog Posts

Roger Travis

Announcing VGHVI guest-hosted multiplayer gaming nights!

One of the most important parts of the mission of VGHVI is to get our members playing video games together, to have something to talk about in our signature interdisciplinary way and, well, just to have a lot of fun. Over the past year or so we've done that on a pretty much weekly basis, and it's been really wonderful. We've played every kind of multiplayer game there is, from Castle Crashers to Carcassonne. Frankly, when I think of these Thursday nights, what comes instantly to mi… Continue

Posted by Roger Travis on November 7, 2009 at 4:13pm

Erik Hanson

Context Clues for October 25-31, 2009

This past week was certainly an exciting one. You may be aware that there are folks out there who still dismiss games as being the same mainly lighthearted distractions that once populated the first video arcades. Seems to me that the mere fact that games cause controversy beyond "Pac-Man Fever" is a solid indication that games have moved forward from the days of Centipede and Joust. Growing up isn't just about growing pains, though. At some point, trying to wear the same shoes… Continue

Posted by Erik Hanson on November 3, 2009 at 9:00am

Erik Hanson

Evernote Clips Archive, & Google Wave

I've started archiving clips of all the articles I link here via a public Evernote notebook.

I've also started trying to collaborate with Ben Abraham (Critical Distance and SLRC) on pulling clips and feeds together. If you'd like to be part of that work (because you like helping, want to see how the sausage is made, of would like to see more clips and links--perhaps for your own link-outs), don't hesitate to let me… Continue

Posted by Erik Hanson on October 28, 2009 at 4:30pm — 3 Comments

Erik Hanson

Context Clues for October 18-24, 2009

Day late and a penny wiser on this one, to perform ungodly genetic experiments with cliches.

And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when ... oh right. I have a reason.



Yeah, I was doing work.

And yes, I own that shirt. Why don't you? Do you not also requi… Continue

Posted by Erik Hanson on October 27, 2009 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

Erik Hanson

Context Clues for October 11-17, 2009

Welcome back! Here's what you may have missed, recently, on The Internet:

Heads up: I've taken out the "pop" in these links, so they won't automatically open in a new tab or page anymore. If you have a strong opinion on the matter, please let me know. Meanwhile, let's cross our fingers and hope that these 40-something links all work properly.

The Game Of Love


We'd best be careful with all this love talk, lest Hallmark catch wind and stick us with another holiday.

G. Christop… Continue

Posted by Erik Hanson on October 19, 2009 at 7:50pm — 1 Comment

Forum

David Carlton

James Paul Gee on games and learning 1 Reply

Started by David Carlton. Last reply by Roger Travis 1 hour ago.

Matthew Teutsch

History and its role in the Utopian and Dystopian settings. 9 Replies

Started by Matthew Teutsch. Last reply by Matthew Teutsch Oct 1.

Latest Activity

I'm a big fan of this video, as you might imagine! Above all, I think it makes it really clear just how big a threat games pose to traditional educational models. I think he's a bit too narrowly focused on assessment here, but the basic idea is th...
1 hour ago
David Carlton added a discussion
(I put this up as a blog post originally, but it makes more sense as a form post, so I'm moving it here; sorry for the confusion...) I just ran across the following video by James Paul Gee (via HackerChick and Dan Pink), and thought that some peo...
8 hours ago
A blog post by Roger Travis was featured
One of the most important parts of the mission of VGHVI is to get our members playing video games together, to have something to talk about in our signature interdisciplinary way and, well, just to have a lot of fun. Over the past year or so we've...
17 hours ago
Roger Travis added a blog post
One of the most important parts of the mission of VGHVI is to get our members playing video games together, to have something to talk about in our signature interdisciplinary way and, well, just to have a lot of fun. Over the past year or so we've...
17 hours ago
Yeah! I can unretire my soldier
on Friday
Nick LaLone is attending David Carlton's event
November 5, 2009 from 9:30pm to 11:30pm
Join your fellow VGHVI members this week in a session of class-based shooting fun playing Team Fortress 2. (And be on the lookout for a special announcement for next week's VGHVI gaming session!) As always, we're playing at 9:30 Eastern / 6:30 Pac...
on Friday
DocBadwrench is now a member of Video Games and Human Values Initiative
on Thursday
I think we can also count on 2 more from my side. At least 1, probably. :)
on Thursday
 
 

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