Videogaming and Esports Studies Network

Bringing together scholars and students at the University to create a hub of research and learning around videogames and their cultures.

Videogaming & Scholarship

The UNCG Videogaming and Esports Studies Network connects scholars at UNCG and beyond who are invested in studying videogaming and their cultures. The Network supports faculty and students by facilitating existing research and curriculum. Our programs and initiatives highlight videogaming and its scholarship as a rising force and place UNCG at the forefront of this cultural landscape.

VIDEOGAMING AND ESPORTS STUDIES MINOR

This interdisciplinary minor prepares students to engage in the gaming and esports industries by providing a broad understanding of videogames and esports. This robust suite of courses highlights the diverse expertise UNCG provides students looking to level-up their education and training. With skills gained from both critical reflection and hands on experience, the minor places students at the forefront of the rapidly changing world of gaming.

Electives are offered in a diverse range of departments, including Art, Classical Studies, Communication Studies, Community and Therapeutic Recreation, English, Information and Analytics, Media Studies, Music, and Religious Studies.

Learn more about the Videogaming and Esports Minor

How to Change Your Major (or Minor)

Change Major/Minor in Banner

ABOUT VESN

Videogaming and Esports have taken over the global media landscape, with videogame sales doubling the movie box office beginning in 2016 and Esports leagues bringing in annual viewership of almost 500 million. UNCG’s recent launch of its esports initiative, including a state-of-the-art gaming facility, reflects the growing interest and investment in this international industry.

The UNCG Videogaming and Esports Studies Network was founded in the Fall of 2021 with the goal of bringing together scholars and students at the University to create a hub of research and learning around videogames and their cultures. The Network is made up of faculty from across the campus, representing a wide variety of disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences and beyond. It now platforms events, programming, and curriculum that will sustain the cultural study of videogaming at UNCG.

Leadership

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

GREGORY PRICE GRIEVE

Gregory Price Grieve is the Executive Director of the Liberal & Professional Studies Department and professor of Religious Studies at UNC Greensboro. Grieve researches, teaches as well as provides service, at the intersection of Asian religions and popular culture. He specializes in digital religion, particularly the emerging field of religion and video games, and his current research uses video games to explore the category of evil in contemporary life.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. GRIEVE

DIRECTOR

JOHN W. BORCHERT

John W. Borchert is the Social Innovation and Public Scholarship Lead for Innovate UNCG and affiliated faculty in the Department of Religious Studies. Borchert is interested in how religious practices and media technologies intersect across American religious histories, particularly their impact on embodiment and death. He serves on the board of the gamevironments, the only journal on religion and video gaming.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. BORCHERT

Our Fellows & Liaisons

Sophia Rosenberg, Undergraduate Fellow

Sophia Rosenberg is a senior who is double majoring in Anthropology and Religious Studies at UNC Greensboro. Rosenberg’s research focuses on the intersection of gaming, religion, and community formation, with emphasis on how players utilize games to create sacred spaces that allow them to explore their identities and values in spaces distinct from everyday life.

Randall Hayes, SF3 and Tabletop Liaison

Dr. Hayes serves as the Network’s connection to UNCG’s Science Fiction and Fantasy Federation (SF3) by facilitating recurring tabletop gaming sessions and contributing to recruiting guests and advertising for their convention while integrating UNCG’s academic expertise on games and popular culture.

Jason Anthony, Foreign Fellow

Jason Anthony is a journalist, scholar and game designer working at the intersection of religion and gaming. He is interested in the ways that games have historically played into religious events and practices, and the opportunities that affords for deep digital game experiences in the 21st century. His current research is focused on the Iraqi folk game of mheibes and efforts to bring it online.
Special Project – Mheibes, onscreen and off
The traditional game of Mheibes is played in Iraq and surrounding areas during Ramadan. The game is both simple and complex, a bluffing and guessing game that is played in neighborhood cafes and massive stadiums. In recent years, digital designers have tried to migrate this folk game into their realm, an effort that tests the limits of the digital self. Journalist and scholar Jason Anthony embarked on a yearlong study of the game and its digital counterparts, with both Iraqi players and experts on “bluffing” games from around the globe.

Visit Jason-Anthony.com

Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, International Summer 2024 NCSV Visiting Fellow

We are thrilled to announce that Professor Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, a distinguished scholar in Religious Studies and deputy spokesperson of the ZeMKI at the University of Bremen, Germany, has been selected as the International Summer 2024 Network for the Cultural Study of Videogaming Visiting Fellow. Professor Radde-Antweiler’s groundbreaking research delves into the intersection of religion, deep mediatization, and video gaming, with a particular focus on ritual studies.
Her extensive publication record includes authored articles and co-edited volumes exploring the profound connections between these areas, including groundbreaking works such as “Minority Churches as Media Settlers Negotiating Deep Mediatization” and “Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion.”
As editor-in-chief of gamevironments, the premier academic journal dedicated to the study of video gaming and religion, Professor Radde-Antweiler continues to push the boundaries of scholarship in this dynamic field. Her current research project examining Climate Change and Values in Digital Gaming promises to shed new light on the role of digital media in shaping our understanding of urgent global challenges.

WHY DO VIDEO GAMES MATTER?

Dr. Grieve discusses the role that video games can play in developing critical thinking skills and ethics.

Dr. Borchert argues that video games and Esports can allow students to become good “global citizens” in our increasingly connected world.

BEHIND THE SCREEN AT UNCG ON YOUTUBE

Join faculty and students at UNCG in going Behind the Screen to discuss esports in education while playing classic and popular games like Fall Guys, Mario Kart, CS:GO 2, and Smash Bros.