Revisiting James Paul Gee’s “What Videogames Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy”: Critical Perspectives for the 21st Century

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium marks the recent 20th anniversary of James Paul Gee's (2003) seminal book, "What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy," with an exploration of how ongoing transformations in video games, including the learning and literacy practices they enable, invite us to revisit, rethink, and reimagine the ideas put forth in Gee's early and influential text. Convening scholars working across multiple national contexts, and drawing on contrasting and complementary theories and methods, this session offers multiple lines of critical inquiry into the ideas first articulated by Gee and which now underpin many of the logics associated with ubiquitous digital technologies.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Media, Culture, and Learning

Chair

• Bradley Robinson, Texas State University

Papers

• The Platform Principle: A Sociomaterial Perspective on Video Games, Learning, and Literacy - Bradley Robinson, Texas State University; T. Philip Nichols, Baylor University; William Wright, University of Georgia

• Beyond ‘Good’ Learning: Applying a Postdigital Lens to the Critical Use of Video Games in Schools - Alex Bacalja, University of Melbourne; Brady L. Nash, University of Florida

• Two Takes on Gee’s “Regime of Competence” in Games, Learning & Society - Earl Aguilera, California State University - East Bay; Kaylee Allison Laub, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Workplace Literacy within the Esports Ecosystem: Past, Present, and Future - Hannah R. Gerber, Sam Houston State University

Discussant

• Antero Garcia, Stanford University