Professor wants to take GTA class after a successful Red Dead Redemption history lesson

A history professor wants to conduct a GTA class after taking the first Red Dead Redemption American history class in 2021. He intends to do so with a new class and a book that delves into the history of 20th-century America. Rockstar Games titles like Vice City and San Andreas are set against historical backdrops from the recent past, namely the '80s in Miami and the '90s in Southern California, respectively.

The professor wants to use these games to teach the history of these settings. He's also spoken about the highly-anticipated upcoming title from Rockstar, Grand Theft Auto 6, and its trailer. This article covers what he said about taking a GTA class.

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Professor who used RDR to teach history planning a GTA class

Tore Olsson, a history professor who taught the world's first Red Dead Redemption American history class at the University of Tennessee in 2021, has plans to conduct a similar GTA class. His RDR class inspired him to write a book called "Red Dead's History," and Arthur Morgan's voice actor Roger Clarke will be narrating the audiobook.

Now, in a recent interview with IGN, where he discussed the book, the professor revealed his plans for a GTA class as well. When asked if what he was doing with RDR could be done with the Grand Theft Auto games, Olsson replied that as a 20th-century American historian, his third book might be based on Grand Theft Auto. He stated:

"I’m planning a new class and hopefully a new book that looks at 20th century America through not just one game, but several games. And the real conclusion of this class will be in the Grand Theft Auto games set in Miami in the 1980s and in Southern California in the 1990s."

The professor said that he's been playing GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas. He also discussed various socio-political issues depicted in these games. For instance, Vice City focused on immigration (mostly from Haiti and Cuba), the overall relationship with Cuba, as well as organized cartels and their involvement in the Miami drug trade in the 80s.

GTA San Andreas, on the other hand, is set in '90s Southern California and focuses on the African American gang culture in Los Angeles at the time, as well as the crack epidemic, police brutality, and subsequent LA riots. The in-game CRASH unit, which the main antagonist belonged to, also existed in real life. Regarding the GTA 6 trailer, Olsson said:

"The game’s vision of Florida is ridiculous, but let’s be honest, a lot of Florida today is ridiculous!"

He also said that the presence of a female protagonist in GTA 6 indicates that Rockstar's titles are moving in a positive direction.

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