Time Schedule:
John Peter Richardson
B CUSP 115
Bothell Campus
Addresses an important social issue through an interdisciplinary perspective, continues to build creative and critical skills, and focuses on the relationship between the individual and society. Offered: W.
Class description
Play: Anthropological and Psychological Perspectives
We play as much as we work, but rarely do we think about play. Why do we play? How do we play? What are the meanings we attach to play, and how does play fit with the rest of what we do as humans? In this class we will explore the question of play. Starting with an investigation of the relation between play and work (and what this reveals about the mind), this class will look at play in a variety of forms: from joking , games, comedy, children's play, horseplay, fantasy, and on through organized sports, play is an everyday activity inseparable from what it is to be human.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Lecture, discussion
Recommended preparation
REQUIRED TEXTS: Peter Stromberg, Caught in Play: How Entertainment Works on You, 978-0804761116
William Calvin, A Brief History of the Mind: From Apes to Intellect and Beyond, 978-0195182484
Stuart Brown, Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, 1583333789
Class assignments and grading
Short papers, journal, tests
