Online Fall Workshop: Birth of the Public Sphere

GRAPHIC TK

Join us October 17-19 for an online playtest workshop of Joe Sramek's Birth of the Public Sphere, a Level 3 game with connections to history, political science, sociology, and cultural studies. Over the weekend, you'll play through a slightly condensed version of this exciting new game, and have time to ask questions as to how to employ it your own classrooms.

THE GAME: BIRTH OF THE PUBLIC SPHERE

Politics, Religion, and the Birth of the Public Sphere: England, 1685-1688  places students in the turbulent political and religious debates of late seventeenth century England, debates that were fundamental in shaping modern civil society. Other themes, such as the burgeoning Scientific Revolution, cultural transformations such as Restoration theater, gendered debates about the appropriate role of women in public debates, and the role of sociability in the development of major intellectual and moral theories are also foregrounded in the game. The game concludes by simulating the so-called “Glorious Revolution” of late 1688, resolving this significant event in English and Anglo-American history through a variety of player actions throughout the game.

PRICING
Become a member (sliding scale for individual membership starts at $25)
$90 for members
$125 for non-members

SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)

October 17

7:00-8:30 pm   Set up & Faction Meetings

October 18 

11:00 am - 12:30 pm Sessions 1 & 2 (November 1685 and June 1686)

12:30-1:30 pm Lunch Break

1:30-3:00 pm Sessions 3 & 4 (January 1687 Open Sessions)

October 19

11:00 am - 12:30 pm Sessions 5 & 6 (Winter/Spring 1688 and Fall 1688)

12:30-1:30 pm Lunch Break

1:30-3:00 pm Sessions Loose ends & Debrief

FUNDED REGISTRATION FOR DEI ADVANCEMENT  
The Reacting Consortium is committed to fostering a broad and inclusive community by subsidizing participation in all of our programming 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 Spring Conf Spot” by October 10, 2025 and respond, briefly, to the following questions:

• How do/es you/your campus/your student body qualify for a DEI-focused initiative?
• What are the classes and games you might use on your campus, and to what ends? (They need not be those offered at the event you would like to attend).
• What is your experience (if any) with RTTP, or other games-for-learning?

GAMEMASTER BIO

 Register Now