Hello Guys!
Im not even sure you can help me, but trying doesnt hurt, so lets do this.
Im a Brazilian internationalist, and since in my country there is no way i can get a masters degree related to area that I really love in IR (soft power), i was thinking about trying to get a masters degree in History.Recently I read some books about cultural history, mainly the ones writed by Burke, and something keep comming to my mind but im not entirely sure i can use this, so here i am seeking help :
Do you guys think i can use the "representations" concept of cultural history in order to study how Brazil are potrayed in Videogames? Or do you guys think thats impossible and if i really wanna use this subject i should try something in communications?
Also, books recomendatios on this subject are always welcome! Sorry for the rusty English, and thank you anyway!
This is a really interesting idea! The thing is, I'm not quite sure it is a history project.
"Representations" as a topic for historical research lets us see what the people who made the media works, thought about the subject. So here, you would be investigating what video game makers think about Brazil. That doesn't tell us about "historical Brazil"--it tells us about the video game makers. That's a project that investigates the modern world, not a historical one. It would be more at home in a literature or cultural studies department, at least in the U.S.
There are ways you could expand this research project to make it more appropriate for a history topic. Like, "the use of video games to teach the history of Brazil" or something like that. But just as it stands, it's a great topic--just not really for history.
Probably in 15 or so years, you would be able to look at representations of Brazil in 1990s-2000s video games to say something about the video game makers of those decades. :)