This online course will allow students to explore North American history & issues, technological developments, and contemporary societal connections via the Western video game genre. Following an introduction to the history of the North American West and the Western genre, students will be grounded in a basic understanding of video games and then will study select Western games & related aspects. Themes to be examined include westward expansion, the growth of technology, race relations, historical figures, and the video game in popular culture. Assignments will allow students to creatively explore the contemporary connections to such themes.