I Win at College
It's official. i have gamed the system in ways undreamed of Sam, the Uber-Weasel himself. Next semester, my D&D game will be worth college credit.
No, you're not reading that wrong, and no, I'm not making it up. Oberlin has a program called 'ExCo' or 'Experimental College', student-taught miscellany courses worth 0-2 credits. You can put up to 5 ExCo credits towards graduation. And I have completed all the paperwork and gotten approval to run D&D ExCo for Fall Semester 2010. The course will have three instructors, myself and two of my friends, each running a D&D campaign for 4-5 people, one specially tailored to introduce beginners. Players will be required to keep character journals and do basic character analysis at the outset.
The mission statement of the class is as follows:
"This course will provide interactive storytelling experiences through the medium of the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Students will create and flesh out dynamic characters, and, under the guidance of the instructors, collectively create a story. In addition to exploring principles of character, storytelling, and setting, this role-playing will allow students to confront ethical dilemmas and apply critical thinking to solve the problems their characters face. Students will split into small groups, each administered by one of the instructors. In addition to in-class participation in these groups, students will be expected to complete out-of-class assignments encouraging them to analyze their characters and the unfolding story."
You may bow, if you like.
No, you're not reading that wrong, and no, I'm not making it up. Oberlin has a program called 'ExCo' or 'Experimental College', student-taught miscellany courses worth 0-2 credits. You can put up to 5 ExCo credits towards graduation. And I have completed all the paperwork and gotten approval to run D&D ExCo for Fall Semester 2010. The course will have three instructors, myself and two of my friends, each running a D&D campaign for 4-5 people, one specially tailored to introduce beginners. Players will be required to keep character journals and do basic character analysis at the outset.
The mission statement of the class is as follows:
"This course will provide interactive storytelling experiences through the medium of the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Students will create and flesh out dynamic characters, and, under the guidance of the instructors, collectively create a story. In addition to exploring principles of character, storytelling, and setting, this role-playing will allow students to confront ethical dilemmas and apply critical thinking to solve the problems their characters face. Students will split into small groups, each administered by one of the instructors. In addition to in-class participation in these groups, students will be expected to complete out-of-class assignments encouraging them to analyze their characters and the unfolding story."
You may bow, if you like.