Exploring the intersection between English literature, video games and sustainability

When discussions occur around sustainability in universities, the focus tends to be on science, engineering, and other STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines. However, at Concordia, various teams from diverse departments and fields of study have come together for the Sustainability Co-Design Project, seeking to delve deeper into the concept of sustainability beyond its conventional boundaries. Among them are Kelsey Blair, a professor of English, along with student partners Ennie Skurczak and Brett Gallant, who took on the task to explore and infuse sustainability topics into the Video Games and/as Literature class. 

The 200-level English course serves as an introduction to the study of the formal, aesthetic, and cultural aspects of video games. Together, Blair and the student partners redesigned two units within the course, strengthening the curriculum by incorporating key sustainability and eco-criticism concepts. The outcome is a course attuned to present-day issues that appeals to diverse learning styles and provides avenues for experiential learning, motivating students to become agents of change.

The co-design process: The importance of thinking and working together

Teaching the course in recent years, Blair saw the Co-Design Project as an opportunity to revamp some units of the curriculum to meet the demands of an increasingly diverse and climate-conscious student body. When presented with the opportunity of collaborating with students through the Students as Partner model, Blair readily embraced it.  “It was nice to have companions along the way, and colleagues who are helping me think through some of these issues,” says Blair reflecting on the co-design process. 

Students Skurczak and Gallant saw in the project an opportunity to discover more about the process of redesigning a course while learning about sustainability within a context where it typically remains unexplored. In addition, the Students as Partners model allowed them to understand the importance of changing the dynamics within the classroom, giving students the opportunity to contribute to the conversation with their own knowledge. “It was nice as a student to feel like my opinion was valued and that I was bringing something to the table,” says Skurczak. 

Rather than confining the integration of sustainability to the examination of the environmental impact of video games, the team elevated the redesign by crafting exercises that prompted students to think about their personal relationship with the land and environment. For instance, they included free-writing exercises and reworked a class-wide supply chain analysis for Nintendo Switch and Breath of the Wild. 

The team also incorporated embodied activities like running an “errand” – to collect a resource or a natural object that can be held in their hand and bring it back to class – aimed at fostering consideration of how sustainable practices can be applied within the realm of video game play. Through these and other activities, the team successfully addressed the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social, and economic – enabling students to understand the holistic nature of sustainability. This was achieved with the input and collaboration of the professor and the student partners, as well as the faculty mentor, Jesse Arseneault and the staff from the Office of the Vice-Provost, Innovation in Teaching and Learning and the Centre for Teaching and Learning who supported the co-design team.

Benefits, challenges and limitations

From an updated curriculum that caters to different learning styles, to the inclusion of topics that are increasingly important to students, the benefits that the Co-Design Project has brought to the course are numerous. 

When asked about the collaboration, Blair and Skurczak express gratitude for having the opportunity to work and learn together about a topic that was new to them. “It was interesting to explore how many different angles you could have around sustainability, and how you could think about it being infused in different areas, says Blair.”

The group was able to delve into sustainability on a deeper level, fostering an environment where student partners felt empowered to take a more active role and express their ideas, thus shifting the paradigm to one where all voices are heard and valued without fear of judgment. 

Like all projects, the redesign also had its challenges. Here, the main challenge was adapting the material that the group wanted to include to the level of the course. Given that this was an introductory-level course, the team had to ensure that the concepts presented remained digestible, as the goal of the course is to equip students with knowledge and language that they can bring to other spheres. 

Beyond the classroom: Key takeaways for future co-design projects

As the team reflected on their experience, all members commented on how enriching it was to learn about how interdisciplinary sustainability can be, and how it can be applied to various aspects of a class. In fact, they all agreed on the need to introduce sustainability concepts and pedagogies in spaces where they would not normally come up. As they have demonstrated through their co-design, sustainability is much bigger than we imagine. 

All team members say that they would encourage other Concordia professors and students to participate in the Sustainability Co-Design Project. They recommend that teams stay realistic about the scope of the redesign, and make sure they select material that matches the level of the class. 

If you are contemplating whether engaging in a redesign project is worthwhile, Blair’s words say it all: “I would recommend people do it, particularly if they are interested in collaborating with students and interested in developing their own teaching practice. It is an opportunity to be in conversation with community. And I think that is really valuable as a professor.”

To learn more details about this Sustainability Co-Design project, check out this summary.

Written by Natalia Espinel Quintero