Games of/against Racial Privilege and Marginalization: A Research Synthesis

Abstract

Game studies is an interdisciplinary field of academic research that draws insights from across the humanities, social sciences, and arts to bring attention to the issues outlined here. As a Knowledge Synthesis project, “Games of/against Racial Privilege and Marginalization” gathered together and summarized games scholarship concerning the representation of race in games, the experiences of racialized players and game makers, and how racial dynamics shape the game development industry and games scholarship as a field of inquiry. The project aimed to 1. Survey and synthesize current scholarship in the humanities and social sciences that focuses on the relationship between games, race, and the social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of privilege and marginalization; 2. Identify the topics and areas of this research that are well developed in terms of quantity of scholarship and breadth of approaches; and, 3. Identify gaps in knowledge and emerging areas where further research is warranted.