Learning Codes in the Age of Digital Coding: Mishneh Torah and Medieval Religious law through Gaming, from Table Top to Mobile

• In Event: Jewish Studies and Digital Humanities Workshop

Abstract

The digital revolution, for many, marks a break not dissimilar to Gutenberg’s printing press. What might that mean for the ways in which Jews and Muslims learn in the 21st Century? Lost & Found is a table-top to mobile game series developed at the Rochester Institute of Technology MAGIC Center, ConverJent, and in consultation with scholars at Vanderbilt, Harvard School of Divinity, Nazareth College, and a number of other institutions. It explores medieval Jewish and Islamic law.  Set in North Africa (Fustat, Old Cairo) in the 12th Century, the heartlands of the Cairo Geniza and a center of vibrant cross-cultural activity, the game system seeks to expand narrow and often misguided discourse around religious legal systems by providing historical context, and plumbing the depths of the seldom-discussed pro-social aspects of religious law such as collaboration and cooperation.  The first module of Lost & Found explores the legal code of Moses Maimonides, the Mishneh Torah (1170-1180); and subsequent modules of the game will allow students to partake of the comparative enterprise by opening them up to Islamic law of the same period.  In the main Lost & Found game (digital prototype funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities) 3-5 villagers work to support their community institutions while also caring for the families.  With scare resources, when will players support one another?  When might they break the law?  Why was the law written this way?  We will explore a number of topics related to the game system including historical accuracy and research, ludo-legal design, game mechanics, learning goals, and player interactions.  The Lost & Found project seeks to expand comparative religious literacy as well as historically contextualizing religious legal systems. 

Author

• Owen Gottlieb, Rochester Institute of Technology/ConverJent