EXPLORING THE AFRICAN SONGO GAME AND HOW GAMEPLAY ENHANCES MULTIPLE LITERACIES AMONG ADULT PLAYERS IN CAMEROON AND THE UNITED STATES
Open Access
- Author:
- Bayeck, Rebecca Y
- Graduate Program:
- Learning, Design, and Technology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- April 01, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Gabriela T Richard, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Gabriela T Richard, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Nicole Sheree Webster, Committee Member
Tyler S Hollett, Committee Member
Sinfree Bullock Makoni, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Songo Board Game
literacies
Cameroon and the United States
African Board Game - Abstract:
- This microethnographic study cross-culturally explored the literacies that Songo board game players in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and New York City engaged in during gameplay. The theoretical framework included situated learning, legitimate peripheral participation, and a multiliteracies view of literacy. A combination of thematic analysis and Erickson’s (2006) approach to interaction analysis served as the analytic and interpretative lens. This study presents the nuances, similarities, and differences in the literacy practices of Songo board game players in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and New York City. The findings indicate that cultural contexts and players’ identity (e.g., cultural identity) shaped the literacy practices in which participants engage. In addition, the literacies players exhibited and developed in the game environment were useful beyond the game environment. Furthermore, cultural contexts informed the structure of both gaming communities, while space/place influenced interactions among participants, game aesthetics, and knowledge about the game. This research project contributes to the literature on games and literacies, to the field of the learning sciences, and to the burgeoning research on board games and learning. It demonstrates that Songo board gameplay facilitates a variety of literacies through the cross-cultural exploration of interactions that take place in the gameplay of an African board game. The study also highlights the intersection of learning, identity, and gameplay, and points to the situatedness of literacies shaped by the cultural contexts. Furthermore, the study presents a nuanced view of the concept of community of practice and demonstrates how space/place, cultural contexts, and identity interact to shape literacies. The findings of this study run counter to perceptions of African games such as Songo as being only objects of art useful to preserve culture. The study shows the significance of these games to research on literacy and learning, and to the design of environments that support learning.