What drives us as humans to seek out experiences that make us cry or that make us laugh? What cultural and artistic roles do comedy and tragedy fulfill? Does media have to be “fun” or “entertaining?” If not, what else might it be trying to do? To answer these questions we’ll be returning to the Ancient Greeks to explore the mechanisms and structures underlying these traditional modes of storytelling. We’ll look at plays such as Iphigenia in Aulis, Antigone, The Bacchae, and Lysistrata to better understand ideas of catharsis and the rigid social duties underlying family, gender, and politics. We will then use these ideas to analyze contemporary literature, plays, and games that riff off of these classical storytelling structures. This media might include Follow Me Down , The Autobiography of Red , Antigonick , Chi-Raq , Spiritfarer , and The Slow Knife .
Over the course of the quarter students will explore these ideas through readings, gameplay, screenings, seminar, and creative workshops. The quarter will culminate in students developing their own games, writing, scripts, or stagings inspired by the various ideas and pieces of media that they have encountered.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
4 - Classical Greek Theater
4 - Game Design
4 - Creative Writing
4 - Performance Studies
Registration
Academic Details
Education, Creative Writing, Game Design