The purpose of this study is to explore the popular computer game Europa Universalis IV and how the use of history looks inside the game and its potential use during lessons.There is also a second purpose to this study and it is to shine some light on how students between the ages of thirteen and fifteen think about history-based videogames and their use in a classroom situation. In order to get the some answers from the students I created a survey that was sent out to two schools in Sweden. The survey contained, among other things, questions about the students’ own experiences with history-based games and if they had learned anything by playing them. Another thing the surveyasked about was their opinion on games being used during class and what advantages and disadvantages they bring forth. The result of both studies was really interesting in their own way. For the first part EU4 is a complicated game which uses history to a great extent, somtimes in a good and educational way, but also in a way to make money. Secondly, the survey that was sent out to the schools gave some inspired answers. They showed that our studnets today are aware of the different ways history can be used, as well as what the games can teach us. Finally, this survey also showed that our young students have wise thoughts about the pros and cons with computer games during class.

The aim of this study is to examine knowledge processes in online spaces. It focuses on threeparticular cases: the Bonfireside Chat podcast, the community around the computer game Europa Universalis 4, and the Supernatural fandom. By applying the frameworks of Wenger’s (1998) communities of practice and Hall’s (1980) modes of reading, it examines how these spaces and their communities engage with their respective media artifacts. It concludes thatthese processes display high levels of complexity and literacy, and that a deeper understanding of such processes is useful in developing future educational efforts, online as well as offline.

This bachelor thesis examines the PC-game Europa Universalis IV and its potential as a learning tool to develop players historical consciousness. The thesis also researches and compares Europa Universalis IV:s historical content and use of history to what is characteristic of popular history. The results show that the game’s potential for developing historical consciousness lies in its contrafactual use of historical content, but because of its high abstraction of history and historical aspects the potentials are limited and problematic to evaluate. The analysis of uses of history in Europa Universalis IV shows that the game’s historical presentation is mostly exemplary and commercial.

Historiska strategispel som Europa Universalis IV och Civilization V försöker på olika sätt representera historia samtidigt som de försöker skapa engagerande spel. I följande studie jämförs historierepresentationen med fokus på spelmekaniker som representerar imperialism. Genom en utförlig analys av båda spelens mekaniker och en efterföljande jämförelse har deras likheter samt skillnader inom representation av imperialism belysts. Resultatet har visat att Civilization V har enklare och mindre utförliga mekaniker för imperialistiskt agerande i jämförelse med Europa Universalis IV. Däremot måste spelaren i Civilization V interagera med dessa mekaniker medan i Europa Universalis IV är dessa mekaniker inte nödvändiga att interagera med. Vidare forskning kan utföras genom att vidga definition av imperialism som spelen undersöks med för att inkludera intern imperialism då studien huvudsakligen fokuserat på extern imperialism. Vidare forskning skulle även kunna utföras genom att undersökas fler spel inom genren som därmed skulle kunna öppna möjligheten att göra resultaten generaliserbara.