Rancière and the poetics of the social sciences

This article reviews the significance of Jacques Rancière’s work for methodological debates in the social sciences, and education specifically. It explores the implications of framing methodology as an aesthetic endeavour, rather than as the applied technique of research. What is at stake in this distinction is the means by which research intervenes in social order and how it assumes political significance, with Rancière arguing against a notion of science as the other of ideology. Rancière’s argument for a democratic research practice organised around a ‘method of equality’ is situated in relation to openly ideological’ feminist ethnography. The implications of Rancière’s work for investigating affect in academic discourse and subjectification in education are reviewed in the conclusion

Reconfiguring Interactivity, Agency and Pleasure in the Education and Computer Games Debate – using Žižek’s concept of interpassivity to analyse educational play

Digital or computer games have recently attracted the interest of education researchers and policy-makers for two main reasons: their interactivity, which is said to allow greater agency, and their inherent pleasures, which is linked to increased motivation to learn. However, the relationship between pleasure, agency and motivation in educational technologies is under-theorised. This paper aims to situate these concepts within a framework that might identify more precisely how games can be considered to be educational. The framework is based on Zizek’s theory of subjectivity in cyberspace, and in particular his notion of interpassivity, which is defined in relation to interactivity. The usefulness of this concept is explored firstly by examining three approaches to theorizing cyberspace and their respective manifestations in key texts on educational game play. Zizek’s analysis of cyberspace in terms of socio-symbolic relations is then outlined to suggest how games might be considered educational insofar as they provide opportunities to manipulate and experiment with the rules underpinning our sense of reality and identity. This resembles Brecht’s notion of the educational value of theatre. The conclusion emphasizes that the terms on which games are understood to be educational relates to the social interests which education is understood to serve

The things we learned on Liberty Island: designing games to help people become competent game players

The growing interest in the relationship between games and learning has, to date, be dominated by two traditions of work. The first treats games as potential educational content; the second considers the social contexts of learning from games, but only at a general level. A methodology has been developed that permits the detailed analysis of how people learn from particular instances of game play. This approach is used here to study two approaches to playing Deus Ex, one involving the training level and one neglecting this. The analysis revealed the things players learnt, the strategies they developed to progress through the game, the way in which these strategies evolved and also the way in which previous experience was transferred to this new context of play. This analysis permits conclusions to be drawn about the value of training levels and the importance of designing games in a way that recognizes previous gaming experience. The analysis also has implications for defining game genres, for decisions about the inclusion of design features such as quick saves and for the design of AI scripts

Learning to play in digital games

There is growing interest in the use of games for educational purposes, particularly with regard to teaching curriculum subjects. Much of the research however has focused either on the content of games or the learning theory they illustrate. This paper presents a methodology that allows for an examination of how players learn to play. An understanding of this process is arguably crucial for incorporating games into educational systems. Three case studies are presented that illustrate the application of this method. We also evaluate its usefulness and limitations. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues in researching learning from games, and suggestions for how research methods in this area might be developed

Emancipation, equality and education : Rancière’s critique of Bourdieu and the question of performativity

Jacques Rancière’s work has had significant impact in philosophy and literary theory, but remains largely undiscussed in the field of education. This article is a review of the relevance of Rancière’s work to education research. Rancière’s argument about education emerges from his critique of Bourdieu, which states that Bourdieu reinforces inequality by presuming it as the starting point of his analysis. What is at stake is the question of performativity, and the means by which discourse has effects. This debate has implications for considering the basis of claims to truth in literary and social science discourse. Parallels are drawn between Judith Butler’s and Ranciere’s portrayal of the relationship between discourse and subjection, as well as their attention to discursive ‘imitation’ in making inequality representable. The article concludes with a discussion of the problematic which Rancière’s work suggests for education research. Amende

Studying Games in School: a Framework for Media Education

This paper explores how media education principles can be extended to digital games, and whether the notion of ‘game literacy’ is an appropriate metaphor for thinking about the study of digital games in schools. Rationales for studying the media are presented, focusing on the importance of setting up social situations that encourage more systematic and critical understanding of games. The value of practical production, or game making, is emphasized, as a way of developing both conceptual understanding and creative abilities. Definitions of games are reviewed to explore whether the study of games is best described as a form of literacy. I conclude that games raise difficulties for existing literacy frameworks, but that it remains important to study the multiple aspects of games in an integrated way. A model for conceptualizing the study of games is presented which focuses on the relationship between design, play and culture