Legal Niches

Online Courses Help You Learn About Games

By John Keefer

OK, so it is the week between Christmas and New Year's Day and there is no school. But if you want to consider expanding your horizons, you may want to take some online courses.

Examiner.com has an interesting feature on 100 online college courses, ranging from Harry Potter Lit to History, Politics and the Taste of Chocolate. There are even several that deal with the medium of videogames.

Culled from the course selections:

• The Strategy of Starcraft: Fans of this game say it's one of the most difficult to master, but this course at Berkeley aims to help students learn the game better through lessons from one of its creators. [UC Berkeley]
• Games and Civic Engagement: Learn about the role video games might play in the future of education and community programs through this course. [MIT]
• The Art of Warcraft: A Closer Look at the Virtual World Phenomenon: Through this course, nerds and artists alike can learn about the aesthetics of the video game world. [Oberlin Experimental College]
• Video Game History: Rise of a New Medium: Whether you loved your NES back in the day or can't get enough X Box, this course teaches students about the history of games and where they're headed in the future. [Oberlin Experimental College]

Other courses that might be of interest to geeks and gamers:

• Invented Languages: Klingon and Beyond: You don't have to be a sci-fi nerd to appreciate the subject matter in this course at the U of Texas focusing on the reasons, rules and social realities of created languages. [U of Texas, Austin]
• Elvish, the language of "Lord of the Rings": This course was taught by the world's foremost expert on this language, who was even a consultant to the makers of the films. While not practical, it certainly speaks to super fans of the series. [U of Wisconsin]
• Age of Piracy: Johnny Depp's kooky but sexy Jack Sparrow has gotten many students interested in learning more about the pirating arts, and this course offers them the chance to take a look at the much less appealing, real-life lives of pirates. [Arizona State]
• The Science of Superheroes: While it might sound like fun and games, this course takes superheroes as a means to teach students real lessons about physics. [U of California Irvine]
• Philosophy and Star Trek: Students who take this class will not only get to watch Star Trek, but delve into the issues the show discusses like time travel, a sense of reality, free will and more. [Georgetown]
• Star Trek and Religion: Look at religion through the lens of the Star Trek world, with discussions that address both supporting and criticizing religion. [U of Indiana]
• Myth and Science Fiction: Star Wars, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings: Explore larger issues of myth and speculative fiction through these popular movies. [Centre College]

I wish I had the option for some of these courses when I was in college.

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on December 29, 2009 (boomark / email).