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Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Games and
Gamification – Lecture Series WS 2025/26

Games, while often perceived as simple entertainment, have in recent decades evolved into a central dynamic shaping how we think, engage, and interact with the world. Especially video games have emerged as a significant medium for shaping and negotiating cultural, social, and political identities. At the same time, play itself has become a ubiquitous logic, with practices of gamification extending into various aspects of everyday life. This lecture series aims to explore the opportunities, challenges, and critical questions arising from this transformation. It will investigate the multifaceted nature of games, analyzing them as artifacts that shape diverse cultural practices across the globe. Beyond individual games, the series will also delve into the broader phenomenon of gamification – the application of game mechanics in nongame contexts such as healthcare and politics – raising vital questions about its ethical implications and its effect on human behavior and agency.