Critical policy analysis and gameplay

Abstract

I tossed this ball to a small class of four graduate students enrolled in a 2022 Critical Policy Analysis class. It matters less which programs they were enrolled, what their specific attraction to policy were. It very much mattered that they had told me, “whatever the midterm is, we want to do it together.” It matters very much that these four people and I had been able to create a space in which “how are you?” was a question, not a fly-by greeting and exit. We came to know a good deal about each other, with a living syllabus whose readings and topics were informed by their specific interests in education policy. In essence, we had formed more of a community workshop than a graduate course. It seemed like an opportune place to offer an analog game for the midterm To my question, they answered in resounding “Yes!” One person said, “I don’t really know what that means, but I’m excited to try it!” After class and for a few days, I furrowed my brow, paced around house, and kept wondering what I was going to design. What does it mean do to “design” a game? What had I gotten myself into? I offered this rather unusual assignment soon after I was able to participate in an enlivening workshop led by outdoor educator and analog game designer, Jeeyon Shim. As part of a speculative education conference, organized by Nicole Mirra and Antero Garcia. Over the course of a short amount of time, Jeeyon guided roughly a dozen educators and educational researchers through how important games are to beings of all ages and forms and how they are also a place where world-making can happen. We all created tiny homes during the workshop with Jeeyon, sharing one by one, pieces of our world. In the sharing, we came to know so much about each other that likely would not have surfaced had we not had about 15 minutes to gather items, small enough to fit into a confined material space, and big enough to illustrate wishes, desires, worries, and essentials for our respective worlds. As Templeton (2020) lifts up in their work that troubles adult’s gaze of