Description
What: Playing in the Bomb’s Shadow
Location: Seminar Room (First Floor)
When: Friday 14:30 – 16:00
Spaces: 60 (All Pre-Bookable)
Host: Dr Malcolm Craig
Description: RPGs that riffed on the nuclear age during the Cold War are sadly absent from most historical studies of the period from 1945 to 1989.
Since the 1980s, historians have explored the cultural significance of contemporary films, television programmes, novels and comics which reveal the history and impact of different forms of ‘nuclear culture’ that emerged after 1945.
RPGs are deserving of the same level of attention, as a form of popular culture that demands genuine participation and engagement.
So, are you ready for a trip into the mushroom cloud?
5, 4, 3, 2, 1…..
About the host: This talk and Q&A will be delivered by Dr Malcolm Craig, Senior Lecturer in American History at Liverpool John Moores University.
Malcolm is a historian of the ‘nuclear age’ and is currently writing a book on post-apocalyptic RPGs and the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s.
He has also designed several RPGs, including the dystopian science fiction game a|state (1st ed. Contested Ground Studios, 2004, 2nd ed Handiwork Games, 2022), the Cold War meets the occult Cold City (Contested Ground Studios, 2006, 2nd ed Handiwork Games, forthcoming), and the post-apocalyptic Hot War (Contested Ground Studios, 2008, 2nd ed. Handiwork Games, forthcoming).
