Arts & Culture
Special Report
Games don't build communities – communities build games
From creators and designers to researchers and players, gaming communities prove that the real value of games lies in the worlds these communities build together
Special Report
All the world’s a game (and we are all players)
From classrooms to communities, social movements to storytelling, games aren’t diversions – they are blueprints for how we create, connect and change our world
Special Report
How the far right weaponised gamers and geek masculinity
Gaming culture didn't accidentally become male – it was deliberately marketed that way, creating the blueprint for online harassment that helped build the online far right
Special Report
Pikachu on the 96 tram means one thing – gaming has taken over Melbourne
Melbourne International Games Week and PAX Aus are more than just trade expos – they are anchor points in the cultural calendar of Melbourne’s gaming communities
Analysis
Historical accuracy matters more than ever in our polarised world
From Comfort Women memorials to researchers facing court battles, telling difficult histories is becoming a complex balancing act
Analysis
What makes a short story great?
The best stories crackle with a kind of electricity, but why they grab us can be hard to articulate. A new podcast is trying to find the answer
Book extract
‘Finding an Indigenous voice’
The second volume of the truth-telling initiative, Dhoombak Goobgoowana, shares the steps, and missteps, on the road to finding an Indigenous Voice at the University of Melbourne
Book extract
‘How we bring Indigenous knowledges into the academy is as important as the knowledge itself’
A new truth-telling book shines a light on the past, present and future of the University of Melbourne’s Indigenous cultural collections
Book extract
Taylor Swift is filling a ‘blank space’ in academic research
A new book explores how Swift studies is bringing the cultural phenomena of Taylor Swift into academia