Play Reconsidered

Author: Thomas S. Henricks
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252047109
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Understanding the significance of adult play in the life of modern societies Within the social sciences, few matters are as significant as the study of human play--or as neglected. In Play Reconsidered, rather than viewing play simply as a preoccupation of the young and a vehicle for skill development, Thomas S. Henricks argues that it’s a social and cultural phenomenon of adult life, enveloped by wider structures and processes of society. In that context, he argues that a truly sociological approach to play should begin with a consideration of the largely overlooked writings on play and play-related topics by some of the classic sociological thinkers of the twentieth century. Henricks explores Karl Marx’s analysis of creativity in human labor, examines Emile Durkheim’s observations on the role of ritual and the formation of collective consciousness, extends Max Weber’s ideas about the process of rationalization to the realm of expressive culture and play, surveys Georg Simmel’s distinctive approach to sociology and sociability, and discusses Erving Goffman’s focus on human conduct as process and play as “encounter.” These and other discussions of the contributions of more recent sociologists are framed by an initial consideration of Johan Huizinga’s famous challenge to understand the nature and significance of play. In a closing synthesis, Henricks distinguishes play from other forms of human social expression, particularly ritual, communitas, and work.

Play Reconsidered

Author: Thomas S. Henricks
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252073185
Category : Play
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Argues that play is a social and cultural phenomenon of adult life, enveloped by wider structures and processes of society. This work explores Karl Marx's analysis of creativity in human labour, examines Emile Durkheim's observations on the role of ritual and the formation of collective consciousness, and more.

Reconsidering The Role of Play in Early Childhood

Author: Julie M. Nicholson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429769997
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 452

Book Description
Reconsidering the Role of Play in Early Childhood: Towards Social Justice and Equity—a compilation of current play research in early childhood education and care—challenges, disrupts, and reexamines conventional perspectives on play. By highlighting powerful and provocative studies from around the world that attend to the complexities and diverse contexts of children’s play, the issues of social justice and equity related to play are made visible. This body of work is framed by the phenomenological viewpoint that presumes equity is best confronted and improved through developing an expanded understanding of play in its multiple variations and dimensions. The play studies explore the potential and troubles of play in teaching and learning, children’s agency in play, the actual spaces where children play, and different perspectives of play based on identity and culture. The editors invite readers to use the research as an inspiration to reconsider their conceptions of play and to take action to work for a world where all children have access to play. This book was originally published as a special issue of Early Child Development and Care.

Lawyers at Play

Author: Jessica Winston
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191083941
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 421

Book Description
Many early modern poets and playwrights were also members of the legal societies the Inns of Court, and these authors shaped the development of key genres of the English Renaissance, especially lyric poetry, dramatic tragedy, satire, and masque. But how did the Inns come to be literary centres in the first place, and why were they especially vibrant at particular times? Early modernists have long understood that urban setting and institutional environment were central to this phenomenon: in the vibrant world of London, educated men with time on their hands turned to literary pastimes for something to do. Lawyers at Play proposes an additional, more essential dynamic: the literary culture of the Inns intensified in decades of profound transformation in the legal profession. Focusing on the first decade of Elizabeth's reign, the period when a large literary network first developed around the societies, this study demonstrates that the literary surge at this time developed out of and responded to a period of rapid expansion in the legal profession and in the career prospects of members. Poetry, translation, and performance were recreational pastimes; however, these activities also defined and elevated the status of inns-of-court men as qualified, learned, and ethical participants in England's 'legal magistracy': those lawyers, judges, justices of the peace, civic office holders, town recorders, and gentleman landholders who managed and administered local and national governance of England. Lawyers at Play maps the literary terrain of a formative but understudied period in the English Renaissance, but it also provides the foundation for an argument that goes beyond the 1560s to provide a framework for understanding the connections between the literary and legal cultures of the Inns over the whole of the early modern period.

The Role of Play in Child Assessment and Intervention

Author: Silvia Salcuni
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 288945259X
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 152

Book Description
Play is a ubiquitous and universal aspect of early childhood. Although it may take different forms throughout development and across cultures, decades of research have found play to be related to important, positive outcomes. Play provides children with valuable cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal learning opportunities. It can act as a mode of communication for young children and allows them to practice ways of managing complex interpersonal interactions. Specific aspects of play, such as children’s creativity in pretend play, have been associated with resilience and coping. The significance of play in childhood has led to its frequent use in the assessment of child development and in the implementation of child and parent-child psychological and educational interventions. Historically, however, the validity and efficacy of these interventions have not been rigorously evaluated. Further, few assessment and intervention models have included parents, teachers, and other key caregivers, but have focused only on the child. This Research Topic will bring together the most current literature on the use of play in child assessment and intervention.

Counterplay

Author: Robert R. Desjarlais
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520267397
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
"Counterplay explores the inner world of a chess player and examines how we attempt to make meaning from the game and the forms of life that surround it. Desjarlais's personal account skillfully illustrates the absorbing, enchanting, and exacting qualities of chess, while also highlighting the penury, disillusion and pettiness that regretfully permeate the game."—Jonathan Rowson, PhD, Grandmaster and British Chess Champion (2004-2006) "This book is replete with deeply researched and closely observed details, small dramas, intriguing insights, compelling anecdotes and potted biographies—all interwoven with great authorial skill and intelligence. This is a superb introduction to the 'lifeworld' of chess that affords glimpses into the psychology of players and touches on the social and political dimensions of competitive chess. In every chapter, Desjarlais offers alluring suggestions as to what kinds of satisfaction different people find in playing chess."—Michael D. Jackson, author of The Palm at the End of the Mind

Playing in Emptiness

Author: Carl Olson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
The purpose of Playing in Emptiness is to expose readers to the notion of play in Zen/Chan Buddhism and its manifestation in emptiness, language, strange teaching methods, the erotic, comic, the fine arts, and the martial arts with the goal of shedding new light on the religious tradition.

Clash of Realities 2015/16

Author: Clash of Realities
Publisher: transcript Verlag
ISBN: 3839440319
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 639

Book Description
Digital games as transmedia works of art - Games as social environments - The aesthetics of play - Digital games in pedagogy - Cineludic aesthetics - Ethics in games - these were some of the important and fascinating topics addressed during the international research conference "Clash of Realities" in 2015 and 2016 by more than a hundred international speakers, academics as well as artists. This volume represents the best contributions - by, inter alia, Janet H. Murray, David OReilly, Eric Zimmerman, Thomas Elsaesser, Lorenz Engell, Susana Tosca, Miguel Sicart, Frans Mäyrä, and Mark J.P. Wolf.

Understanding Video Game Music

Author: Tim Summers
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107116872
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 265

Book Description
Music is a central component of video games. This book provides methods and concepts for understanding how game music works.

Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy Volume 9

Author: David Sobel
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198877706
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 302

Book Description
This is the ninth volume of Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy. Since its revival in the 1970s political philosophy has been a vibrant field in philosophy, one that intersects with jurisprudence, normative economics, political theory in political science departments, and just war theory. OSPP aims to publish some of the best contemporary work in political philosophy and these closely related subfields.