Summer of Reacting II: The Trial of Galileo

The Summer of Reacting II, part of our annual summer conference series, offers faculty around the world opportunities to play a variety of games and experience the Reacting pedagogy online. See more of the Summer of Reacting, and all our events! 

THE TRIAL OF GALILEO: ARISTOTELIANISM, THE "NEW COSMOLOGY," AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1616-1633
Recommended for all instructors. 
In The Trial of Galileo the new science, as brilliantly propounded by Galileo Galilei, collides with the elegant cosmology of Aristotle, Aquinas, and medieval Scholasticism. The game is set in Rome in the early decades of the seventeenth century. Most of the debates occur within the Holy Office, the arm of the papacy that supervises the Roman Inquisition. At times action shifts to the palace of Prince Cesi, founder of the Society of the Lynx-Eyed, which promotes the new science, and to the lecture halls of the Jesuit Collegio Romano. Some students assume roles as faculty of the Collegio Romano and the secular University of Rome, the Sapienza. Others are Cardinals who seek to defend the faith from resurgent Protestantism, the imperial ambitions of the Spanish monarch, the schemes of the Medici in Florence, and the crisis of faith throughout Christendom. Some embrace the “new cosmology,” some denounce it, and still others are undecided. The issues range from the nature of faith and the meaning of the Bible to the scientific principles and methods as advanced by Copernicus, Kepler, Tycho Brahe, Giordano Bruno, and Galileo.

PRICING
Become a member (sliding scale for individual membership starts at $25)
$100 for members
$150 for non-members
$0 for funded registrants (see below)

SCHEDULE
Additional details to come. All times Eastern. 
August 5 (Thurs) 11 AM-12 PM; 1-2 PM; 2:30-3 PM; 4-5 PM

August 6 (Fri) 11 AM-12 PM; 1-2:30 PM; 3-4 PM

FUNDED REGISTRATION FOR DEI ADVANCEMENT  
The Reacting Consortium is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging. These values inform our work to foster an accessible community, our approach to game development, and our determination to contend with “big ideas.” We have reserved free spots in all of our 2021 workshop and conference programming to advance these values. These spots are for instructors who are members of historically underrepresented and marginalized identity groups, and for those teaching at minority-serving institutions (HBCUs, Tribal colleges and universities, AAPI and Hispanic-serving institutions). If you are interested in applying for one of these spots, please send an email to reacting@barnard.edu with the subject line “Funded SOR Spot” by July 10. Even if the general spots for this event are sold out, these funded spots may still be available. Please apply and share with colleagues.

GAMEMASTER BIO

Tony Crider is a Professor of Astrophysics at Elon University. After completing his thesis research in gamma-ray astrophysics at Rice University and continuing it as a National Research Council associate, he taught at American University, serving as director of its new Multimedia Design and Development program. At Elon, in addition to chairing the Department of Physics, he collaborated with NASA to create the SciLands, an archipelago of virtual world islands dedicated to science education and outreach. Crider also pioneered the development of the short Reacting to the Past-style role-playing games. His own, The Pluto Debate: The International Union Defines a Planet, was the first of many such games to receive funding from the National Science Foundation. His recent publications include a book chapter on visual literacy in astronomy education, a journal article on the reliability of Google Trends data in gauging video game popularity, and new research using virtual reality to test balance issues in concussion patients. Crider also regularly speaks at conferences advocating the use of experiential assessment through the use of “epic finales” in higher education.