Virtually Human: Virtual Reality, Video Games and Becoming Human

Catalog description

This course will explore video games and virtual reality as they relate to being a human in the modern world. This course will explore the role of video games in understanding and interacting with our culture, including how video games are shaped by our culture as well as how our cultural norms become shaped by games. We will ask how video games engage basic human emotions and facilitate social interactions. We will explore video games as tools for engaging in philosophical and moral questions by playing games such as Detroit: Become Human. We will explore philosophical and moral questions related to virtual reality and the experiences virtual reality enables. We will engage with the phenomenological experience of VR and what possibilities VR offers for transforming our subjectivity. The course will be interactive and include opportunities to play video games and experiences VR, as well as to reflect on those experiences in light of our developing cultural and individual values. Core courses are not open to Freshmen or Sophomores, except for associate degree candidates.