(no subject)
So, a couple of things to mention:
Representations of LGBT in Computer and Console Games
Within the field of sociology, it is common knowledge that an individual gains an understanding of social norms, mores, mannerisms, and attitudes through means of socialization. Historically, this job has been undertaken by the parental figures, then later by educational authorities. With the infusion of media into mainstream American society, television and the silver screen both became primary sources of socialization, sometimes even stronger than the parental figures in this endeavor. Studies have been done regarding film and television regarding both socialization and representation of minorities, but computer and console games are typically overlooked as means for socialization. While video games may not have first been an effective tool for socialization - Pong had little to tell us about family dynamics, race, gender, or class - with the immense development in realistic 3-d rendering, storyline, and character, video games have a fair amount to teach us. Toys like Barbie clearly send messages about the female body (to be attractive, one must be blonde, white, thin, and essentially plastic); however, in video games, the power of these and similar messages is much stronger because in video games the Barbies talk and practically live. In a society where we mimic celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, it should come as no surprise that children, teens, and even adults will begin to internalize characters like Lara Croft and Duke Nukem as normative. What message does this send minority gamers? How does an African-American gamer feel while playing as the all-white team of Final Fantasy VIII? How does a girl gamer feel while playing as Mario, a stereotyped Italian male plumber in Mario Sunshine? How does a gay gamer feel while playing as Jack and being forced to marry a girl or live alone forever in Harvest Moon? What message does the “norm” that’s being reinforced in all these games send to gamers, minority and majority alike?
While gender and race studies have been done on video games (even if very few and far between), the issue of representation of sexual orientation in video games has largely been overlooked academically. Within gaming culture, there seems to be a certain level of accepted homophobia, probably due to the lack of cultural diversity that is associated with “gaming culture.” The character stereotypes found in games, recent and in the days of old, do not improve the situation; in most situations, the character takes on a role of a white heteronormative male, typically to save the white heteronormative damsel in distress. This can cause severe disconnections between player and avatar if the player identifies as a minority, and only strengthens the close-minded nature of that which we have labeled “gaming culture.” That being said, this presentation will delve into the recent attempts of inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters into video games, the do’s and don’t’s of this endeavor, the reception of this new style of character within the gaming world, and what new messages these characters may be sending to the receptive audience.
Writing the paper for this and presenting at the conference can count
for all of your class projects - not just two - since it's a lot of
work. You can always do additional projects, but as far as I'm
concerned you've already earned an A in the class and we're only half
way into the semester:)
Send your abstract in - it's awesome! And I say that knowing what grad
and professor abstracts look like and yours looks like a good one in
comparison to those, which is a major compliment since you're just
getting started!
Laurie
Dear Peer Leader Applicant,
Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to serve as a First-Year Florida Peer Leader for the 2006-2007 academic year. We are very excited to have you as a part of our team, and we hope you choose to join us in this endeavor.
Due to the high number of qualified applicants to whom we extended this position, we are only able to guarantee each Peer Leader one teaching semester at this time. You have been chosen to serve as a Peer Leader for a Fall 2006 section of First-Year Florida.
Congratulations!
Sincerely,
New Student Program
Those two things are HUGE for me, just fyi. I'll, hopefully, be presenting at that conference in April (I'll let ya know... I should find out Wednesday). And the peer-leader thing... I could not be more stoked that I'm gonna be teaching a "Welcome to UF!" course for incoming freshmen! I won't be teaching honors, unlike with Preview, but that's a-okay. There's still a chance I'll be doing exploratory FYF, which would be EVEN COOLER.
I register for classes in a month. The SOC will be posted either Friday or next Monday... but based on last Fall's schedule, I may not have class on Fridays (which is unheard of at UF). Here's the proposed schedule:
SYA4930: Lesbian and Gay Studies (3 creds) -or- SYP4060: The Sociology of Human Sexuality (3 creds)
WST4930: Gender and Genesis (3 creds)
REL2362: Introduction to Islam (3 creds)
ANT2410: Honors Cultural Anthropology (3 creds) -or- some other Honors Course...
STA3024: Introduction to Statistics II (3 creds)
IDH3931: Peer-Leadership in FYF (2 creds)
... 17 credits. Wee! I'm really looking forward to it, though. Also, I have to pick housing this week... don't know where to live. ; ; If anyone has suggestions for a UF dorm, let me know!
Representations of LGBT in Computer and Console Games
Within the field of sociology, it is common knowledge that an individual gains an understanding of social norms, mores, mannerisms, and attitudes through means of socialization. Historically, this job has been undertaken by the parental figures, then later by educational authorities. With the infusion of media into mainstream American society, television and the silver screen both became primary sources of socialization, sometimes even stronger than the parental figures in this endeavor. Studies have been done regarding film and television regarding both socialization and representation of minorities, but computer and console games are typically overlooked as means for socialization. While video games may not have first been an effective tool for socialization - Pong had little to tell us about family dynamics, race, gender, or class - with the immense development in realistic 3-d rendering, storyline, and character, video games have a fair amount to teach us. Toys like Barbie clearly send messages about the female body (to be attractive, one must be blonde, white, thin, and essentially plastic); however, in video games, the power of these and similar messages is much stronger because in video games the Barbies talk and practically live. In a society where we mimic celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, it should come as no surprise that children, teens, and even adults will begin to internalize characters like Lara Croft and Duke Nukem as normative. What message does this send minority gamers? How does an African-American gamer feel while playing as the all-white team of Final Fantasy VIII? How does a girl gamer feel while playing as Mario, a stereotyped Italian male plumber in Mario Sunshine? How does a gay gamer feel while playing as Jack and being forced to marry a girl or live alone forever in Harvest Moon? What message does the “norm” that’s being reinforced in all these games send to gamers, minority and majority alike?
While gender and race studies have been done on video games (even if very few and far between), the issue of representation of sexual orientation in video games has largely been overlooked academically. Within gaming culture, there seems to be a certain level of accepted homophobia, probably due to the lack of cultural diversity that is associated with “gaming culture.” The character stereotypes found in games, recent and in the days of old, do not improve the situation; in most situations, the character takes on a role of a white heteronormative male, typically to save the white heteronormative damsel in distress. This can cause severe disconnections between player and avatar if the player identifies as a minority, and only strengthens the close-minded nature of that which we have labeled “gaming culture.” That being said, this presentation will delve into the recent attempts of inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters into video games, the do’s and don’t’s of this endeavor, the reception of this new style of character within the gaming world, and what new messages these characters may be sending to the receptive audience.
Writing the paper for this and presenting at the conference can count
for all of your class projects - not just two - since it's a lot of
work. You can always do additional projects, but as far as I'm
concerned you've already earned an A in the class and we're only half
way into the semester:)
Send your abstract in - it's awesome! And I say that knowing what grad
and professor abstracts look like and yours looks like a good one in
comparison to those, which is a major compliment since you're just
getting started!
Laurie
Dear Peer Leader Applicant,
Congratulations! It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to serve as a First-Year Florida Peer Leader for the 2006-2007 academic year. We are very excited to have you as a part of our team, and we hope you choose to join us in this endeavor.
Due to the high number of qualified applicants to whom we extended this position, we are only able to guarantee each Peer Leader one teaching semester at this time. You have been chosen to serve as a Peer Leader for a Fall 2006 section of First-Year Florida.
Congratulations!
Sincerely,
New Student Program
Those two things are HUGE for me, just fyi. I'll, hopefully, be presenting at that conference in April (I'll let ya know... I should find out Wednesday). And the peer-leader thing... I could not be more stoked that I'm gonna be teaching a "Welcome to UF!" course for incoming freshmen! I won't be teaching honors, unlike with Preview, but that's a-okay. There's still a chance I'll be doing exploratory FYF, which would be EVEN COOLER.
I register for classes in a month. The SOC will be posted either Friday or next Monday... but based on last Fall's schedule, I may not have class on Fridays (which is unheard of at UF). Here's the proposed schedule:
SYA4930: Lesbian and Gay Studies (3 creds) -or- SYP4060: The Sociology of Human Sexuality (3 creds)
WST4930: Gender and Genesis (3 creds)
REL2362: Introduction to Islam (3 creds)
ANT2410: Honors Cultural Anthropology (3 creds) -or- some other Honors Course...
STA3024: Introduction to Statistics II (3 creds)
IDH3931: Peer-Leadership in FYF (2 creds)
... 17 credits. Wee! I'm really looking forward to it, though. Also, I have to pick housing this week... don't know where to live. ; ; If anyone has suggestions for a UF dorm, let me know!