Games in Education 2017

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is one of the most widely played and controversial video game franchises of all time. Due to its violence and inflammatory subject matter, schools have understandably distanced themselves from GTA and discouraged its use. However, millions of adolescents continue to play the game every day without any structure or guidance as to how to process its complex web of problematic representations. This talk unpacks a unique study where high school seniors were encouraged to play the game with a critical view on how they relate to race, gender and violence in the world of Los Santos. The discussion will review the challenges of importing such a contentious game into a school, and the transformative effect it had on the students' understanding of themselves, their media consumption and their world view, ultimately questioning whether schools should rethink how to address the problematic and influential games their students play.