| Title | Navigating Public History and Game Preservation |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | In Conversation with the Computerspielemuseum |
| Contributor | Racquel M. Gonzales (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.53288/0441.1.23 |
| Landing page | https://punctumbooks.com/titles/historiographies-of-game-studies-what-it-has-been-what-it-could-be/ |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Racquel M. Gonzales |
| Publisher | punctum books |
| Published on | 2025-07-25 |
| Long abstract | In this conversation, Dr. Racquel M. Gonzales (Research Historian, The Strong National Museum of Play, Rochester, New York) interviews staff of Berlin’s Computerspielemuseum about the role of a museum in the work of public history. Gameshouse gGmbH managing director Dr. Klaus Spieler discusses how the museum emerged at a fraught time in Germany’s national relationship with game content and culture alongside the continued impact of regulation. Technical director Matthias Oborski and curator Philipp Frei offer perspectives on collecting, preserving, and exhibiting game history for archival researchers and non-specialist audiences. We reflect on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and grapple with the roles museums should play in the future of game studies. The discussion offers insights on game history developed outside the United States and the practice of public history while navigating various stakeholders—institutional, governmental, industrial, public—that shape the narratives we craft and histories we preserve in museums and archives. |
| Page range | pp. 511–523 |
| Print length | 13 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
Racquel M. Gonzales is the Director of Interpretative Engagement at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester in New York. A trained ethnographer and oral historian, she holds a Ph.D. in Visual Studies and a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies from University of California, Irvine, an MA in Media Studies from University of Texas at Austin, and a ba in Cinematic Arts with a minor in Classics from University of Southern California. Her previous roles include stints at The Strong National Museum of Play, University of California, Irvine, and Laguna College of Art and Design.