Metagames

This workshop looks at the use of metagames as a research method and a form of engaged play. Dr Julia Bullard from UBC’s School of Information focuses on how classroom games can teach knowledge organization practices involving rules and references points needed to classify and retrieve information. Then, scholars Nora Perry (UBC) and Dr Caighlan Smith (York University) will demonstrate their game Can You Even Read? designed to help players navigate issues surrounding language and literacy in the time of disinformation and AI.

This event is open to the general public and does not require registration (but please note that our seating is limited). 

Co-organized with UBC's Critical Play Lab and Pop Culture Cluster.

Dr Julia Bullard is an associate professor at the iSchool, where she teaches courses in knowledge organization, classification theory, and information systems. Her research looks at the way that knowledge organization systems are designed, implemented, revised, broken, or fixed. She is interested in the design of organization systems and how these systems might align with the values and activities of their communities. Her dissertation work focused on classification systems—the designed structure of terms, their relationships, and the rules for applying these terms to documents or people.

Nora Perry (she/her) is a doctoral student at the University of British Columbia in the Language and Literacy Education department (LLED), whose research focuses on video games in and out of educational contexts, with a focus on rural and remote education. She is also a sessional lecturer in the Faculty of Education, and you can find her playing video games and board games in her time off.

Dr Caighlan Smith (she/her) is a postdoctoral researcher with the Department of Global Communications and Cultures at York University. Her current research project focuses on democratic agency in narrative choice-driven video games. Dr Smith's other research interests include narratology, digital media studies, intersectional feminism, and popular culture.