Dungeons, Dragons, and the Devil: Faith, Authority, and Identity through Role-Playing Games during the Satanic Panic in Calgary.
Published in Past Honours Theses, University of Victoria, 2025
My undergraduate honours thesis, this paper is an oral microhistory of the experiences of several members of Calgary’s Dungeon & Dragons community during the Satanic Panic who were also raised in Christian environments. Through exploring the tensions between conservative Christian communities and the gaming community during this time, this thesis examines the role that communal gaming and imaginative liminal spaces have in giving players tools through which to interrogate and challenge the structures and authority-given narratives that define their immediate reality, as well to subversively assert agency over their own identity and worldview.
Recommended citation: Czerwonka, Nick. (2025). "Dungeons, Dragons, and the Devil: Faith, Authority, and Identity through Role-Playing Games during the Satanic Panic in Calgary." Honours Thesis. University of Victoria.
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