Decolonizing Sweave: African Tradition and Alternative Cultural Pedagogies

Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang, University of Ghana

Video games are typically played for teleological purposes: the goal is to “win” and complete the tasks associated with the game. However, there is research into alternative reasons for playing video games, with some focus on the quotidian and intentionally failing games. Leaning toward the latter goal, this presentation explores the nexus between alternative purposes and pedagogy through the game Sweave. Created by the African platform Leti Arts, this ball game includes moments of teaching anytime the user fails: the user learns about Adinkra and Ancient Egyptian symbols that recall traditional forms of knowledge production and learning that have characterized African society. This presentation explores the implications of using failure as a strategy to learn about one’s culture, positioning this move as a decolonial turn. Sampling the views of undergraduate students at the University of Ghana for this exercise suggests that even though the game is designed with winning as the primary objective, alternative playstyles that embrace failure unlock unique educational possibilities.

Kwabena Opoku-Agyemang is a senior lecturer at the English Department of the University of Ghana and the academic director for School for International Training Ghana. His scholarship has appeared in several edited volumes and journals, and revolves around African digital literature. He is the West African Anglophone editor of Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, the oldest literary journal in South Africa, and serves on the boards of journals that include Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures, and Critical Global Issues.