Pieter Van den Heede
@pietervdheede.bsky.social
Historian @ ESHCC | History & Games | Public History | Memory | Digital Humanities | Historical Theory | Finalist Young Historian of the Year 2019 | 🇧🇪 in 🇳🇱 | He/him | Opinions are my own
Check out my dissertation: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/134918
Check out my dissertation: https://repub.eur.nl/pub/134918
Pinned
Intro post 3:
How do players reflect on playing games that depict the Holocaust?
Check it out in the article below in History & Memory:
muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl...
How do players reflect on playing games that depict the Holocaust?
Check it out in the article below in History & Memory:
muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/articl...
Why be clear when you can be chaos
Ik hou van België.
Vandaag richt Defensie de 1e en de 7e Brigade van de Landmacht opnieuw op.
Toch betekent dat niet dat België nu 7 plots brigades heeft. De benamingen zijn historische keuzes. "Niet bevorderlijk voor de duidelijkheid", klinkt het.
Toch betekent dat niet dat België nu 7 plots brigades heeft. De benamingen zijn historische keuzes. "Niet bevorderlijk voor de duidelijkheid", klinkt het.
February 3, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Why be clear when you can be chaos
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
Ik heb de voorbije dagen heel wat steun mogen ontvangen, wat ik ongelofelijk apprecieer. Hieronder volgt dan ook een lijstje met celebs die op de scholekster zouden stemmen.
PS: jij kan ook nog steeds op de scholekster stemmen, en wel hierzo: tally.so/r/zxE8RR
PS: jij kan ook nog steeds op de scholekster stemmen, en wel hierzo: tally.so/r/zxE8RR
Wie wordt Vogel van het Jaar 2026?
Gemaakt met Tally, de eenvoudigste manier om formulieren te maken.
tally.so
January 27, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Ik heb de voorbije dagen heel wat steun mogen ontvangen, wat ik ongelofelijk apprecieer. Hieronder volgt dan ook een lijstje met celebs die op de scholekster zouden stemmen.
PS: jij kan ook nog steeds op de scholekster stemmen, en wel hierzo: tally.so/r/zxE8RR
PS: jij kan ook nog steeds op de scholekster stemmen, en wel hierzo: tally.so/r/zxE8RR
During a recent meet-up in Amsterdam, Timothy Snyder said journalists too often work as 'stenographers'.
You could add: stenographers acting like the dog in the movie 'Up'.
They need to be proactive and agenda-setting discursive laborers instead.
You could add: stenographers acting like the dog in the movie 'Up'.
They need to be proactive and agenda-setting discursive laborers instead.
January 23, 2026 at 12:20 PM
During a recent meet-up in Amsterdam, Timothy Snyder said journalists too often work as 'stenographers'.
You could add: stenographers acting like the dog in the movie 'Up'.
They need to be proactive and agenda-setting discursive laborers instead.
You could add: stenographers acting like the dog in the movie 'Up'.
They need to be proactive and agenda-setting discursive laborers instead.
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
Oh, this look amazing!
store.steampowered.com/app/4285930/...
Not only it's a RPG set in modern-day India, exploring their folklore & myths, it's also made by a team of Indians who have a channel of animated videos on Asian history: www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZ...
store.steampowered.com/app/4285930/...
Not only it's a RPG set in modern-day India, exploring their folklore & myths, it's also made by a team of Indians who have a channel of animated videos on Asian history: www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZ...
Rakshasa on Steam
Rakshasa is a first-person, narrative-driven RPG set in modern India, where a hidden world of Tantrik spellcasters and ancient mythological horrors operate on the margins of society. Rakshasa blends b...
store.steampowered.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Oh, this look amazing!
store.steampowered.com/app/4285930/...
Not only it's a RPG set in modern-day India, exploring their folklore & myths, it's also made by a team of Indians who have a channel of animated videos on Asian history: www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZ...
store.steampowered.com/app/4285930/...
Not only it's a RPG set in modern-day India, exploring their folklore & myths, it's also made by a team of Indians who have a channel of animated videos on Asian history: www.youtube.com/channel/UCpZ...
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
My profile of the ubiquitous and indefatigable Adam Tooze is up at The Guardian Long Read today: www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The crisis whisperer: how Adam Tooze makes sense of our bewildering age
The long read: Whether it’s the financial crash, the climate emergency or the breakdown of the international order, historian Adam Tooze has become the go-to guide to the radical new world we’ve enter...
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:31 PM
My profile of the ubiquitous and indefatigable Adam Tooze is up at The Guardian Long Read today: www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Apart from the AI-sadness, this also tells you a lot about how citation politics currently works in general, and how dumb & superficial it often is.
And so checked out Google Scholar. Now on my profile it doesn't appear, but somwhow on Nelli's it does and ... and ... omg, IT'S BEEN CITED 42 TIMES almost exlusively in papers about AI in education from this year alone... scholar.google.com.vn/citations?vi...
scholar.google.com.vn
December 19, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Apart from the AI-sadness, this also tells you a lot about how citation politics currently works in general, and how dumb & superficial it often is.
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
We're happy to announce the call for contributions for our new HGN theme: Fictions! Following a successful event last month, this theme explores the relationship between history and fiction in games, and how they shape each other.
www.historicalgames.net/call-for-con...
#gamestudies #gamingthepast
www.historicalgames.net/call-for-con...
#gamestudies #gamingthepast
Call for Contributions - Fictions | Historical Games Network
Our theme of Fictions started with a HGN | IWM panel at the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Curious Festival. You can read more about the event on the Historical Games Network blog and you can watch the ...
www.historicalgames.net
October 16, 2025 at 2:02 PM
We're happy to announce the call for contributions for our new HGN theme: Fictions! Following a successful event last month, this theme explores the relationship between history and fiction in games, and how they shape each other.
www.historicalgames.net/call-for-con...
#gamestudies #gamingthepast
www.historicalgames.net/call-for-con...
#gamestudies #gamingthepast
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
Here's how I put it on the Ezra Klein Show four years ago:
"The news system isn’t really designed for public understanding. It’s designed to produce new content every day." www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/p...
Which is to say: any "fix" has to be systemic too.
"The news system isn’t really designed for public understanding. It’s designed to produce new content every day." www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/p...
Which is to say: any "fix" has to be systemic too.
September 14, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Here's how I put it on the Ezra Klein Show four years ago:
"The news system isn’t really designed for public understanding. It’s designed to produce new content every day." www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/p...
Which is to say: any "fix" has to be systemic too.
"The news system isn’t really designed for public understanding. It’s designed to produce new content every day." www.nytimes.com/2021/11/12/p...
Which is to say: any "fix" has to be systemic too.
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
Schotwonden bij Palestijnse kinderen wijzen op gericht vuur
Schotwonden bij Palestijnse kinderen wijzen op gericht vuur
www.volkskrant.nl
September 13, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Schotwonden bij Palestijnse kinderen wijzen op gericht vuur
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
This will certainly be a book for my shelf.
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! @mahliann.bsky.social, @marcuscarter.com, and myself have combined our collective brains and written a wide-reaching introduction to the complex and interdisciplinary field of Game Studies in this forthcoming book for Polity. www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?b...
September 4, 2025 at 12:22 PM
This will certainly be a book for my shelf.
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
Ik had een leuk en inspirerend gesprek met historica Tina De Gendt, over publieksgeschiedenis, erfgoed als forum voor democratische onderhandeling en wandelen als methode, te lezen op @overdemuur.bsky.social:
overdemuur.org/geschiedenis...
overdemuur.org/geschiedenis...
Geschiedenis in het publiek. Interview met Tina De Gendt
De Gentse historica Tina De Gendt onderzoekt de geschiedenis van superdiverse wijken, samen met de inwoners van die wijken. Ze ziet erfgoed als een forum voor democratische onderhandeling en vertre…
overdemuur.org
September 3, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Ik had een leuk en inspirerend gesprek met historica Tina De Gendt, over publieksgeschiedenis, erfgoed als forum voor democratische onderhandeling en wandelen als methode, te lezen op @overdemuur.bsky.social:
overdemuur.org/geschiedenis...
overdemuur.org/geschiedenis...
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
New preprint on "Computational Hermeneutics," co-authored by too many people to list in one post. TL;DR: GenAI is a cultural technology, and needs to be evaluated in ways that recognize situatedness, plurality, and ambiguity as the conditions of meaning — not noise to be minimized.
Computational Hermeneutics: Evaluating Generative AI as a Cultural Technology
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p>Generative AI (GenAI) systems are increasingly recognized as cultural technologies, yet current evaluation frameworks often treat cul
papers.ssrn.com
August 29, 2025 at 3:41 PM
New preprint on "Computational Hermeneutics," co-authored by too many people to list in one post. TL;DR: GenAI is a cultural technology, and needs to be evaluated in ways that recognize situatedness, plurality, and ambiguity as the conditions of meaning — not noise to be minimized.
Ik begrijp oprecht niet dat het zomaar op tv kan.
Nog los van het feit dat etnische zuivering besproken wordt als 'business as usual', alsof het op zichzelf al geen grove misdaad tegen de menselijkheid is:
Evian, 1938? Doet bij Marbe geen belletje rinkelen?
Zo iemand is haar ziel kwijt.
Nog los van het feit dat etnische zuivering besproken wordt als 'business as usual', alsof het op zichzelf al geen grove misdaad tegen de menselijkheid is:
Evian, 1938? Doet bij Marbe geen belletje rinkelen?
Zo iemand is haar ziel kwijt.
August 15, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Ik begrijp oprecht niet dat het zomaar op tv kan.
Nog los van het feit dat etnische zuivering besproken wordt als 'business as usual', alsof het op zichzelf al geen grove misdaad tegen de menselijkheid is:
Evian, 1938? Doet bij Marbe geen belletje rinkelen?
Zo iemand is haar ziel kwijt.
Nog los van het feit dat etnische zuivering besproken wordt als 'business as usual', alsof het op zichzelf al geen grove misdaad tegen de menselijkheid is:
Evian, 1938? Doet bij Marbe geen belletje rinkelen?
Zo iemand is haar ziel kwijt.
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
To me, this is Digital Humanities
August 14, 2025 at 7:51 PM
To me, this is Digital Humanities
The song below is part of my writing soundtrack atm, but also:
The cover art for James Last's 1970s Polka Party albums are mindblowingly awetastic, let's be honest here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZhk...
The cover art for James Last's 1970s Polka Party albums are mindblowingly awetastic, let's be honest here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZhk...
August 7, 2025 at 7:21 AM
The song below is part of my writing soundtrack atm, but also:
The cover art for James Last's 1970s Polka Party albums are mindblowingly awetastic, let's be honest here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZhk...
The cover art for James Last's 1970s Polka Party albums are mindblowingly awetastic, let's be honest here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZhk...
Question to the BlueSky game studies-crowd!
What are some of the best studies you know about the psychological, emotional and cognitive engagement of players with game fictions?
I'm thinking of books by @kcisbister.bsky.social , Aubrey Anable and some others, but any other key recommendations?
What are some of the best studies you know about the psychological, emotional and cognitive engagement of players with game fictions?
I'm thinking of books by @kcisbister.bsky.social , Aubrey Anable and some others, but any other key recommendations?
August 6, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Question to the BlueSky game studies-crowd!
What are some of the best studies you know about the psychological, emotional and cognitive engagement of players with game fictions?
I'm thinking of books by @kcisbister.bsky.social , Aubrey Anable and some others, but any other key recommendations?
What are some of the best studies you know about the psychological, emotional and cognitive engagement of players with game fictions?
I'm thinking of books by @kcisbister.bsky.social , Aubrey Anable and some others, but any other key recommendations?
... Another day in writing paradise.
Today, I'm revising my chapter on games that directly depict the Holocaust (and, well, that chapter sure needs revising.)
I'm writing about several games, but also Gerda. I can very much recommend it if you haven't played it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Fe...
Today, I'm revising my chapter on games that directly depict the Holocaust (and, well, that chapter sure needs revising.)
I'm writing about several games, but also Gerda. I can very much recommend it if you haven't played it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Fe...
Gerda A Flame In Winter - Official Trailer
YouTube video by GameTrailers
www.youtube.com
August 6, 2025 at 8:41 AM
... Another day in writing paradise.
Today, I'm revising my chapter on games that directly depict the Holocaust (and, well, that chapter sure needs revising.)
I'm writing about several games, but also Gerda. I can very much recommend it if you haven't played it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Fe...
Today, I'm revising my chapter on games that directly depict the Holocaust (and, well, that chapter sure needs revising.)
I'm writing about several games, but also Gerda. I can very much recommend it if you haven't played it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Fe...
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
PUBLISHED #OpenAccess!
HISTORIOGRAPHIES OF GAME STUDIES: What It Has Been, What it Could Be
780 pages of disciplinary self-care, otherwise known as intellectual history. Come for the pixels, stay for the resolutions.
#VideoGames #MediaStudies
@cmejeur.bsky.social @emmavphd.bsky.social
HISTORIOGRAPHIES OF GAME STUDIES: What It Has Been, What it Could Be
780 pages of disciplinary self-care, otherwise known as intellectual history. Come for the pixels, stay for the resolutions.
#VideoGames #MediaStudies
@cmejeur.bsky.social @emmavphd.bsky.social
July 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
PUBLISHED #OpenAccess!
HISTORIOGRAPHIES OF GAME STUDIES: What It Has Been, What it Could Be
780 pages of disciplinary self-care, otherwise known as intellectual history. Come for the pixels, stay for the resolutions.
#VideoGames #MediaStudies
@cmejeur.bsky.social @emmavphd.bsky.social
HISTORIOGRAPHIES OF GAME STUDIES: What It Has Been, What it Could Be
780 pages of disciplinary self-care, otherwise known as intellectual history. Come for the pixels, stay for the resolutions.
#VideoGames #MediaStudies
@cmejeur.bsky.social @emmavphd.bsky.social
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
The most exhausting thing about Game Studies *by far* is all the rampant Columbusing that happens, both within and beyond the field (like when someone outside the field fails to even mention prior work on a particular game...)
I wrote something new for History Respawned today. It's a review of a new book about Red Dead, but it's really about academic writing and historical game studies as a field. Please read, but also know, I really really really really REALLY didn't want to write this review.
Reviewer 2's Review of Red Dead's History — History Respawned
I promised myself I would never write a negative book review. I promised my PhD advisor I would never write a negative book review. I promised I would always find a silver lining in any piece of aca...
www.historyrespawned.com
July 27, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The most exhausting thing about Game Studies *by far* is all the rampant Columbusing that happens, both within and beyond the field (like when someone outside the field fails to even mention prior work on a particular game...)
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
My article "The Separation of Analog and Digital Game Studies" has now been published as part of this mammoth 781-page edited volume Historiographies of Game Studies.
Congrats to the editors and fellow authors for getting this into the world!
punctumbooks.com/titles/histo...
Congrats to the editors and fellow authors for getting this into the world!
punctumbooks.com/titles/histo...
Historiographies of Game Studies: What It Has Been, What It Could Be – punctum books
punctumbooks.com
July 25, 2025 at 9:46 PM
My article "The Separation of Analog and Digital Game Studies" has now been published as part of this mammoth 781-page edited volume Historiographies of Game Studies.
Congrats to the editors and fellow authors for getting this into the world!
punctumbooks.com/titles/histo...
Congrats to the editors and fellow authors for getting this into the world!
punctumbooks.com/titles/histo...
Reposted by Pieter Van den Heede
Embed With Games is now available in this little ebook bundle for a limited time, pay what you want
July 24, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Embed With Games is now available in this little ebook bundle for a limited time, pay what you want