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The Reacting Consortium is dedicated to making our games inclusive and accessible for our members and their students. We continue to take proactive measures, and develop resources, provide advice, and take other proactive measure to support Reacting games as positive tools for learning in your classroom.
Commitment to Accessibility and Inclusion
The Reacting Consortium is committed to fostering a community and learning environment that values and promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe that diversity enriches the educational experience and enhances critical thinking, empathy, and understanding. We recognize that diversity encompasses a broad spectrum of identities, including but not limited to ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, religion, age, disability, and national origin.
As a publisher, we are committed to empowering our authors to develop a wide range of games and resources so that students can see themselves represented in Reacting games. We strive to create a classroom space where students’ experiences are valued and respected, and where they will encounter various perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.
As a community of educators, we are committed to creating inclusive professional development spaces by challenging bias, harassment, and discrimination and by supporting participation, membership, and registration for historically underrepresented groups. We recognize that diversity involves creating a culture of inclusion, where many voices are heard, valued, and respected.
We encourage ongoing dialogue, feedback, and collaboration among instructors, students, and game authors to address the evolving needs and challenges of improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in Reacting to the Past. In pursuit of this, we actively seek input from our community to shape policies, curricula, and resources that foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
As of 10/3/2023
What We're Doing Now
Funded Spots at Events for Faculty
We offer funded registration for instructors who are members of historically underrepresented and marginalized identity groups, and/or for those teaching at minority-serving institutions (HBCUs, Tribal colleges and universities, AAPI and Hispanic-serving institutions) to attend our conferences and to become members of the Reacting Consortium.
E-Book Resources
All published games are available as e-books, making them more affordable and accessible for students. As our e-book library expands, we hope to make a more uniform format for our published games. We also are working to make our developing games available in an e-reader friendly format. Check back often for news on our expanded offerings.
Reacting Editorial Board Guidelines
The Editorial Board continues to work to accommodate, address, and anticipate issues of inclusion and accessibility.
Resources
These resources are designed to help game authors and GMs create a healthy environment that allows for students to safely engage in dialogue. While these resources are not necessary to run a game, using them could help make students more comfortable while experiencing Reacting to the Past.
Free Accessibility Presentations
In an effort to increase the accessibility of our games to all students we are offering these presentations for free for members!
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Written Materials for Instructors
Instructor Guide to Promoting Healthy Roleplaying
by Nick Proctor
RTTP Guidelines for Game Masters Addressing Student and Faculty Discomfort in Reacting Games
by Reacting Consortium Board
RTTP Guidelines for Students - (DRAFT)
by Reacting Consortium Board
by Michaele Ferguson
Larp Safety Design Fundamentals
by Johanna Koljonen
Paid Accessibility Presentations
These recordings of live accessibility presentations are available for purchase with a substantial discount for Reacting Consortium members!
Jamie Lerner-Brecher discusses questions of accessibility, student stress, how to incorporate principles of Universal Design into your syllabi, and the ways that Reacting already aligns with Universal Design principles. This is a recording of the session.
Play it Safe: Safety Tools for your Reacting Game
Professor Allen White discusses a variety of safety tools adopted and adapted from the non-academic role-play community. He also shares how to deploy these and other tools, and other best practices.
Coming Soon
More Accessibility Presentations and Resources
Learn best practices for creating an accessible classroom during and outside of games.
Reacting Safety Tools
Reacting-specific tools designed to create a welcoming environment for students and address any discomfort that may occur during games.
Sexual Harassment Policy
The Reacting Consortium is committed to creating and maintaining a harassment-free environment for all participants in the Consortium’s activities. All members and participants, including employees, contractors, vendors, volunteers, and guests, are expected to engage in consensual and respectful behavior and to preserve the Reacting Consortium’s standard of professionalism at all times. The following policy pertains to all venues where officially sanctioned Reacting Institutes, workshops, meetings, and other activities occur, whether in person, by telephone, or through electronic communication. Violations of this policy should be reported using procedures printed in the Reacting event program.
The Reacting Consortium has absolutely no tolerance for sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is behavior (speech or actions) in formal or informal settings that demeans, humiliates, or threatens an individual on the basis of their sex, gender, gender expression, or sexual orientation.
Sexual harassment can also take nonsexual forms and includes discriminatory remarks or actions based on an individual’s sex, gender, gender expression or sexual orientation. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal comment or physical conduct of a sexual nature, including situations in which (i) the request or conduct involves any implied or expressed promise of professional reward for complying; or (ii) the request or conduct involves any implied or expressed threat of reprisal or denial of opportunity for refusing to comply; or (iii) the request or conduct results in what reasonably may be perceived as a hostile or intimidating environment. Such examples are illustrative, not exhaustive.
All Reacting Consortium members and conference participants should be attentive to the fact that historical role-playing can create transgressive moments that complicate this. While in game, some players may need to express ideas that reflect the historical realities of the moment of the game. These may be sexist, homophobic, or otherwise intolerant. Consequently, this harassment policy does not refer to role-play between characters in a reacting game. Sexual harassment also does not refer to occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature or consensual personal and social relationships without discriminatory effect. It refers to behavior that reasonably situated persons would regard as not welcome and as personally intimidating, hostile, or offensive.
Text in this policy is taken from documents produced by the American Historical Association with their permission.
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