Interested in an independent study for Spring 2012? Join us in creating “Speculation,” an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) meant to enhance financial literacy and reveal the consequences, through near-future fictional scenarios, of possible outcomes if a cultural change does not occur that values community over shareholder value, the environment over greed, and human lives over profits. The transmedia game “Speculation” enrolls the resources of a wide variety of real-world and virtual platforms to engage players in activities that, on the micro-scale of individual puzzles and problems, embody the dynamics that fueled the economic crash of 2008, and on the macro-level of the game as a whole, encourage insights into the game beyond the game—that is, the real-life dangers posed by corporate greed today and possible ways to contain and control it. We welcome undergrads interested in this topic to contribute to the game modules, which can be based in the real world, in virtual cyberspace, or in the mixed reality of the Layar browser.
If you like puzzles and games and are interested in finance capital, this is for you! Contact Katherine Hayles at katherine.hayles [at] duke.edu for more information and details on how to sign up for an independent study for Spring 2012.
