"That's Just What the Book Says!"

In this presentation, I examined the cultural politics of the Old School Renaissance (OSR) movement as it relates to contemporary D&D releases. In particular, I examine themes of colonialism in Tomb of Annihilation.

Presentations

Loci of Power: Bosses, Fantasy, and Democracy in "The Unsleeping City"

This presentation examines a persistent trope in fantasy media--the combination of personal and political power in the hands of evil. I argue that this trope helps audiences wrestle with the occasionally unsatisfying feelings of living in a democracy.

Publications

"A Crown is Warranted With Strength": Bosses, Fantasy, and Democracy in Elden Ring

“An Affront To My People:” Excising the Other from the Fantasy of Skyrim

About Mark

Mark Hines is a PhD candidate in English at the University of Kentucky. He is interested in representations of race and gender in virtual and fantastic worlds. His background is in race studies, game studies, and cultural studies.

His dissertation focuses on rhetorics and representations of race in fantasy games--from marketing, to text, to reception. His work has been published in Games and Culture, Analog Games Studies, The Journal of Games Criticism, and Press Start.

Research Interests

• 20th & 21st Century American Culture and Literature

• Gender and Race

• The Fantastic in Literature and Film

• Cultural Studies

Affiliations

• English

• Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies

Research Interests

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