Communication and Media Studies
Course title: Introduction to Videogame Studies
Code:
NBG_KO230G2
Credits: 2
Type (lecture/seminar/practice/consultation) and number of contact hours: seminar, 2
Evaluation method (end-term exam mark/ term mark / other): other
Suggested semester: Spring
Frequency of availability: every other semester (or each semester, on request)
Language: English
Prerequisites (if any): Description
Aims: This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of computer games as
interactive media texts and examines their social, cultural and educational functions, effects
and uses. Students will be familiarized with the basic problems, main strands and recent
results of digital games research and analysis. Students will read current research papers and
analyses from a variety of sources in game design/game development, social sciences and
humanities, and make a number of presentations about their readings. Each presentation will
be on a chosen topic (i.e. paper, chapter) and will be followed by discussion in class. The
course is open to students from all disciplines and levels of experience.
Competences to develop (Skills and Abilities):
Field-specific skills: knowledge about computer games and gaming’s influence on cultural
production and consumption in Hungary and around the world. Familiarity with major
theories and approaches to digital games with a (social) scientific scope. Knowledge about
potential beneficial and harmful effects of videogames and their uses in education.
Communication skills: synthesizing information, presenting different viewpoints.
Research / Analytical Skills: evaluating ideas and their presentation; gathering information
and data; comparing / contrasting evidence; evaluating information sources.
Course content and schedule:
(1. week) 1. Videogames as a medium – Basic taxonomies
(2. week) 2. The videogames industry - Facts and figures
(3. week) 3. Videogame-use statistics and habits
(5-6. week) 4. The Semiotics of Computer Games
(7-8. week) 5. Computer games as cultural products
(9-10. week) 6. Psychology of video games
(11-12. week) 7. Qualitative approaches to computer games in media studies research
(13-14. week) 8. Serious games and edugames
Education management:
Course Meeting Times: Tuesday, 17.20-18.50
Place: room 404 in Building B
Assessment:
 method of assessment: Grading is based on class participation (30%) and individual
presentations (70%). Each presentation will be about assigned readings (relevant
articles and/or book chapters and/or blog posts), and is expected (a) to offer an
outline of the article’s/chapter’s content, (b) be about 15 minutes-long and (c) have a
number of slides commensurate to the length of the article/chapter to be presented
(min. 5-8 slides for a 12-15 long paper). Depending on the number of participants of
Communication and Media Studies
the course, each student will have at 1 or 2 presentations during the Semester.
Compulsory reading:
Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon – Smith, Jonas H. – Tosca, Susana P. (2008): Understanding
Video Games. The Essential Intro. London: Routledge.
Kerr, Aphra (2006): The Business And Culture of Video Games. Gamework/Gameplay.
London: SAGE.
Wolf, Mark J.P. – Perron, Bernard, eds. (2003): The Video Game Theory Reader. New York:
Routledge.
Optional reading:
Corneliussen, Hilde G. – Rettberg, Jill Walker, eds. (2008): Digital Culture, Play, and
Identity. A World of Warcraft Reader. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Galloway, Alexander R. (2006): Gaming. Essays On Algorithmic Culture. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press.
Mayra, Frans (2008): An Introduction to Game Studies. Games in Culture. Los Angeles:
SAGE.
Perron, Bernard – Wolf, Mark P. J., eds. (2008): The Video Game Theory Reader 2. New
York: Routledge.
Riha, Daniel, ed. (2010): Videogame Cultures and the Future of Interactive Entertainment.
Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press. (online)
Supporting (compulsory/optional) digital materials:
DiGRA materials and conference proceedings, online.
Person in charge of program: Tamás PÓLYA, PhD
Person in charge of the course: Tamás PÓLYA, PhD
Instructor: Tamás PÓLYA, PhD
Instructor’s office hours: on request, on Wednesdays and Thursdays
Preferred contact details: [email protected]
Online communication method: email, group messages via Neptun
Communication and Media Studies
Course title: Media dilemmas
of Pluralistic Democracies
Code:
NBG_KO145K3
Credits: 2
Type (lecture/seminar/practice/consultation) and number of contact hours: seminar, 2
Evaluation method (end-term exam mark/ term mark / other): presentations, written exam
Suggested semester: Fall
Frequency of availability: every other semester (or each semester, on request)
Language: English
Prerequisites (if any): Description
Aims: This course surveys the basic elements of press relations in pluralistic democracies. It
analyses convergent and divergent tendencies of the media in some Western countries,
especially the US, focusing on old and new dilemmas, on cooperation models between
printed and online press, on the present and future of quality television. It presents as case
studies major media-conflicts in the US (Pig Bay, Pentagon Papers, Watergate), and
Murrow’s and Wallraff’s activity. Students will read current studies, articles and analyses
from a variety of sources about the role of media in liberal democracies of 20. and 21.
centuries. Each presentation will be on a chosen topic (i.e. paper, chapter, journal article) and
will be followed by discussion in class. The course is open to all students who are interested
in the social and historical background of media in modern democracies.
Competences to develop (Skills and Abilities):
By the end of the course and by utilizing the experiences of discussions during the classes
students shall be able to understand and analyse the main features, dilemmas and the key
developments of media in Western democracies. Interested students will demonstrate an
understanding of the history and role of mass media in shaping communications and public
opinion in the Western hemisphere, and of important media functions, included the
watchdog role.
Course content and schedule:
1. The founding and rise of BBC, its three main functions, BBC during WW2
2. What can and can’t do the media: Ed Murrow and the McCarthysm
3. A German example: Günter Wallraff’s investigating reports, their historical (ir)relevance
4. The Vietnam war: correspondents on the spot, comparisons with other wars (Afganistan,
Iraq, etc.)
5. The role of mass media in Vietnam war: the riport of Seymour Hersh
6. Consequences of the war: McNamara, the Pentagon Papers and the New York Times
7. Kennedy’s press politics: the Pig Bay’s conflict in the American press
8. Facts and myths of the Watergate scandal; „mediocracy”
9. Who killed the newspaper: the Internet and the news industry
10. The dilemma of Wikileaks: what is journalism?
11. Summary and preparation for a work
12. Writing an essay as final exam
13. Evaluation
Education management:
Course Meeting Times: to be declared
Place: to be declared
Communication and Media Studies
Assessment:
 method of assessment: Grading is based on class participation, individual
presentations and on the final written exam. Each presentation will be about assigned
readings and is expected to offer an outline of an article or study. Depending on the
number of participants of the course, each student will have at 1 or 2 presentations
during the Semester.
Compulsory reading:
Hallin, Daniel C. (2001): The Media and Political Power: Vietnam, Watergate and the Myth
of „Mediocracy”. In: (ed.) Peter Bajomi-Lázár & István Hegedüs: Media and Politics. pp.
19-26. Budapest: Új Mandátum.
Hersh, Seymour M. (2004) The Massacre of My Lai. In: (ed.) John Pilger: Tell me no lies.
pp.85-119. London: Vintage Random House.
Murrow, Edward (2004): The Menace of McCarthysm. In: (ed.) John Pilger: Tell me no lies.
pp.26-44. London: Vintage Random House.
Schulz, Winfried(2001): Preconditions of Journalistic Quality in an Open Society. In: (ed.)
Peter Bajomi-Lazar&István Hegedüs: Media and Politics. pp. 47-57. Budapest: Új
Mandátum.
The News Industry (2011) (without author, Special Report). The Economist, July 9th 2011.
Wallraff, Günter: Lowest of the Low (Ganz unten). In: (ed.) John Pilger: Tell me no lies.
pp.158-173. London: Vintage Random House.
Optional reading:
Buchwald, Art (1974): No news is good news. In: Buchwald, Art: Washington is leaking.
pp.180-192. Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett Publications.
Kurtz, Howard (1993): Fit to print. In: Kurtz, Howard: Media Circus/ The Trouble with
America’s Newspapers. pp. 151-174. New York&Toronto: Random House
Supporting (compulsory/optional) digital materials: Person in charge of program: Tamás PÓLYA, PhD
Person in charge of the course: József MARTIN professor emeritus
Instructor: József MARTIN professor emeritus
Instructor’s office hours: on request, on Wednesdays
Preferred contact details: [email protected]
Online communication method: email, group messages via Neptun
Communication and Media Studies