"Leveling Up Critical Storytelling" at the Strong Museum of Play

Leveling Up Critical Storytelling: Using RPGs to Reimagine the Real World

Role-playing games (RPGs) can be escapist activities that remove us from the social, political, and ideological realities of the real-world. However, imagined game worlds can also be critical spaces where gamers can reimagine the conditions of everyday life in ways that dream toward justice-oriented futures. In this interactive session, a group of panelists will explain how they use RPGs to reimagine societal structures that contribute to social, economic, and political inequity. Then, session attendees will be invited to consider approaches to worldbuilding that center themes of peace, humanization, equity, and inclusion.

Panelists: 

Dr. Karis Jones, Assistant Professor of ELA Education at Empire State University, SUNY

Alex Kohn, Senior Young Adult Librarian at the New York Public Library

Rob Lamb, Librarian at the Geneva Public Library

Robin Lange-Fazio, Middle School ELA Teacher in NYC; Actual Play Podcaster

Dr. Alex Corbitt, Assistant Professor of Literacy at SUNY Cortland