Abstract
This chapter presents the use of Lost & Found – a purpose-built tabletop to mobile game series – to teach medieval religious legal systems. The series aims to broaden the discourse around religious legal systems and to counter popular depiction of these systems which often promote prejudice and misnomers. A central element is the importance of contextualizing religion in period and locale. The Lost & Found series uses period accurate depictions of material culture to set the stage for play around relevant topics – specifically how the law promoted collaboration and sustainable governance practices in Fustat (Old Cairo) in twelfth-century North Africa. Players work together to build communal resources whilst balancing the needs of their own family. The games align game mechanics and player problem-solving to highlight the governance aspects of the legal systems and provide tangible demonstrations of how religious legal systems provided prosocial governance structures.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Publication Date
2021
Document Type
Book Chapter
Department, Program, or Center
School of Interactive Games and Media (GCCIS)
Recommended Citation
Gottlieb, O (2021). Playing at the crossroads of religion and law: Historical milieu, context and curriculum hooks in Lost & Found in R. Houghton & K. Avsted (Eds.) Middle Ages in Modern Culture: History and Authenticity in Contemporary Medievalism (pp.140-160). Bloomsbury.
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
Included in
African History Commons, Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Architectural History and Criticism Commons, Art Education Commons, Book and Paper Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Cultural History Commons, Economics Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Technology Commons, Education Economics Commons, Ethics in Religion Commons, Game Design Commons, Gifted Education Commons, Graphic Communications Commons, Graphic Design Commons, Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons, History of Religion Commons, Illustration Commons, Instructional Media Design Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal Commons, Legal Education Commons, Legal History Commons, Legal Studies Commons, Medieval History Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons, Other Film and Media Studies Commons, Practical Theology Commons, Public History Commons, Religion Law Commons, Religious Education Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Torts Commons, Visual Studies Commons
