Tore Olsson (University of Tennessee at Knoxville) is using a video game in his history course to give students a meaningful, interactive way to engage with course content. The “Red Dead America” course uses Red Dead Redemption II–which is set in 1899 on the American frontier–to explore historical topics including the women’s suffrage movement, corporate capitalism, and African American rights after the Civil War. Olsson explains that by integrating popular culture into his courses, students can meaningfully and accessibly interact with history. Olsson also discusses this model’s impact on community engagement, explaining that video game fans have reached out to him outside of the classroom to pose insightful questions about history.
