{"product_id":"2940011980114","title":"A Refusal to Play Along: Videogaming and Ludic Thought","description":"In this dissertation, I analyze the videogame as a way of approaching \u003cbr\u003eemerging forms of selfhood, as well as new models of technological innovation, \u003cbr\u003eeconomic activity, and artistic production, utilizing writings by theorists of visual \u003cbr\u003eculture, in particular Theodor W.  Adorno.  By evaluating the media phenomenon \u003cbr\u003eof the videogame, I assess the new ludic individual and elucidate the problems \u003cbr\u003eand possibilities that accompany her.  I propose that games be played critically, \u003cbr\u003enot simply as expressions of culture or as products for consumption, but as \u003cbr\u003eobjects through which we can think.  In this way, games function much like \u003cbr\u003eartworks, as pieces of visual culture that allow us to explore different avenues of \u003cbr\u003ereflection.  Games can be catalysts for deliberation on a variety of topics, from \u003cbr\u003eaesthetics to constructions of selfhood.  Individuals often play the role of the \u003cbr\u003egamer even without knowing it, due to the unavoidability of games on phones, \u003cbr\u003ecomputers, TV, etc.  The individual as a gamer is active, but entrapped; she has \u003cbr\u003echoices, but they are from a menu; she has a purpose (or a quest), but its \u003cbr\u003eoutcome is predetermined. My project is to scrutinize this tendency in order to \u003cbr\u003eexplain how technologies have shaped us and, more importantly, how we can \u003cbr\u003ereclaim play for our benefit.","brand":"Sarah Grey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145196650736,"sku":"2940011980114","price":1.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940011980114_p0.jpg?v=1763551722","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940011980114","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}