University of California Berkeley, through its student-run Democratic Eduation at Cal (DeCal) program, will offer a course that "go[es] in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft," according to the syllabus. Student facilitator Alan Feng plans "lecture[s] on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted."
Mr. Feng expects players to submit two game replays and analyze them in depth. His "The Theory of Starcraft" is the main text for the class. Suggested reading includes "The Art of War," by Sun Tzu, and "Crazy as Me," written by popular professional StarCraft player Lim Yo Hwan. StarCraft was released nearly a decade ago, but it remains very popular, particularly in South Korea. A sequel, StarCraft II, is currently in the works for PC and Mac. Per the publisher's custom, Blizzard has not announced a publication date.
DeCal classes are initiated by undergraduate and post-graduate students who serve as facilitators of subject matter from any discipline. According to the university, classes have ranged from the Taiwanese language to Simpsons Philosophy.
Thanks to Macworld's Peter Cohen for the heads-up.
