![]() ![]() This is, of course, not the historical so-called “Scramble for Africa” of the late 19th to the early 20th century, but the beginning of a staged scenario in Sid Meier’s Civilization V. Her mission: explore Africa, expand her territory into it, exploit its riches, and exterminate those who conflict with these aims, be they native Africans or rival Europeans. Queen Victoria commands the English Empire’s expansion into inland Africa, already controlling a handful of settlements around its coast and on the near coast of Europe: Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Lagos, Accra, Freetown, Gibraltar, and Victoria. The introduction to the “Scramble for Africa” scenario when playing as Queen Victoria. Postcolonialism, empire, imperialism, history, education, affect, technological determinism, homogeny, Civilization V Introductionįigure 1. To conclude, I will consider what implications this has on the use of 4X games like Civilization V for education and the conception of history in the minds of the players, drawing on other recent scholars who have similarly problematized the series. For this study, I will read the game’s goals and mechanics through postcolonial theorists such as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and then turn to affect theory to consider what role the player takes in writing this history. This co-opts non-colonial societies into imperialism, while in the process silencing their histories. With many studies lauding the series for its educational capacities I argue that with an affective turn to the role of the player, the game’s homogenization of narratives of societal progression reinforces a Western-centric notion of history. “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate”: Affective Writing of Postcolonial History and Education in Civilization V by Dom Ford AbstractĬivilization V as one of the most successful and definitive works of the 4X videogame genre presents a clear narrative of empire-building that, I will argue, is problematic when set against postcolonial theory. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |