"Satan's Game": The Cultural Roots and Impact of Dungeons and Dragons

Student Name
Ted Lee
Student Email
Supervised by
Terry Schenold

This focus group examines the cultural impact of Dungeons and Dragons in the United States from its conception in the mid-20th century to today. We will look at the political, cultural, and intellectual discourse surrounding tabletop roleplaying games, and we will also critique the cultural and ontological roots of the roleplaying game genre as conceptualized and categorized today. Students will participate in a Dungeons and Dragons game for a hands-on experience of roleplaying first-hand as well as explore other roleplaying systems that attempt to redefine the game genre and the concept of roleplaying itself. By examining what roleplaying means within the context of U.S. culture, this focus group hopes to further understand the importance of games in the development of the subject within modern society as well as the various schisms in psychological development (e.g., real/fantasy, role/inner self) that roleplay and games both produce and help bridge.

Academic Term
Autumn 2013
Assigned Section