Mobile video gaming for humanities education and scholarship: a case study in knowledge exchange and digital humanities

Thesis

The humanities at the higher education level presently find themselves at a crossroads. Scholars in the humanities perceive themselves to be under pressure to quantify or describe their work in terms of relevance and monetary value. The alternative solution that presents itself is what many critics argue is a surrender to external agendas and a compromise on the ‘inherent value’ of the humanities (Small, 2013). This existential challenge is reinforced by two factors: first, a policy shift in higher education to promote research that is collaboratively developed and geared towards public, non-academic, or academic-adjacent audiences, called ‘knowledge exchange’ (KE). The second factor is a growing emphasis on the incorporation of digital technology into research methods and outputs, referred to in this thesis as ‘digital humanities’ (DH). KE and DH are flashpoints for controversy in the humanities, with some seeing them as harbingers of the field’s downfall and others viewing such approaches as a way for the field to move forward. The thesis will focus on knowledge exchange projects in the humanities that use digital tools. It would have been, in principle, possible to separately examine knowledge exchange and digitally-driven humanistic scholarship. However, the thesis looks at projects that combine both approaches because 1) while superficially they make look different, at their core they share many attributes and aims, and 2) by looking at projects that involve both, we take as our study the most ‘extreme’ option. This is an ideal way to test the limits of reform and resistance within the humanities, and to get a detailed picture of their impact.

Authors: Zlock, LE

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-pz2vqqbav
• Type of award: MSc by Research
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: digital humanities