A team of Boise State faculty, in partnership with the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, was awarded a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant for $130,000 to fund the development of an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) housed at the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise. The ARG will engage users in the democratic value of non-violent political participation and add an interactive digital experience to the memorial, the only one of its kind in the U.S.
The goal of the project is to increase local awareness of the process of radicalization to violence by increasing individual resilience to recruitment narratives for hate and violence-based ideologies through strengthening human rights educational outcomes and media literacy skills. The project builds on the existing education program at the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and additionally funds the creation of a disinformation research unit at Albertsons Library whose work will be accessible to the public.
Faculty involved include:
- Anne Hamby, assistant professor of marketing
- Katherine Wright, assistant professor of education
- Anthony Ellertson, clinical professor and director of the Gaming, Interactive and Mobile Media (GIMM) program
- Beth Ramsey, associate professor in Albertsons Library
- Isaac Castellano, assistant clinical professor in the School of Public Service