HS260 - Matters of Play / Fall 2017

Note: this schedule is provisional; we will adapt to our learning progress, so check this page before every session.

Week 1 - Matters of Play: Why Play Matters Wed, 9/6 Exercise: The Idea of Play, Association Map Lecture: Play, the Protestant Work Ethic, and the Exodus to the Virtual Read:Syllabus Tutorial: Mediawiki basics / Q&Q Week 2 - The "Primæval Soil of Play": Problems and Potentials Mon, 9/11 Lecture: Play, Order, and the Influx of Mind Read: Johan Huizinga. Homo Ludens, "The Nature and Significance of Play" (1-25) QQ: Fire Wed, 9/13 Lecture: The Ambiguities of the Play-Concept Re-Read: Johan Huizinga. Homo Ludens, "The Nature and Significance of Play" (1-25) QQ: Ice Week 3 - Cosmic Play: Entropy, Exotropy and Play Forms Mon, 9/18 Lecture: Play Forms as Exotropic Memory Read: Kevin Kelly. What Technology Wants, (emphasize) "History of the Seventh Kingdom" + "The Rise of Exotropy" (1-69) QQ: Fire Wed, 9/20 Lecture: The Paidia-Ludus Continuum Read: Roger Caillois. Man, Play, and Games, "The Definition of Play" + "The Classification of Games" (3-35) QQ: Ice Week 4 - God Plays Dice: Alea and Stochastic Systems Mon, 9/25 Lecture: Cosmic Play: Giving Birth to a Dancing Star Read: Indic Cosmology: Siva's Dice Game and the Hindu Concept of Līlā Read: Sutton-Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play, "Play and Ambiguity", "Rhetorics of Fate" (1-17) QQ: Fire Wed, 9/27 Lecture: Fated to Play: The Premodern Rhetorics of Play Read: Slahal & Dice Read: Sutton-Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play, "Play and Ambiguity", "Rhetorics of Fate" (52-73) QQ: Ice Week 5 - Ritual Play: Paidia, Paizō, Paideia Mon, 10/2 Lecture: Paizō: Dance-Play and Moral Methexis Read: Paizō Read: Lonsdale, Steven. Dance and Ritual Play in Greek Religion (1-3, 21-75) QQ: Fire Wed, 10/4 Lecture: Dionysian Disruptions in Choreia of Control Read: Ehrenreich, Barbara. Dancing in the Streets, "A Note on Puritanism and Military Reform" Read: Lonsdale, Steven. Dance and Ritual Play in Greek Religion (76-110) QQ: Ice Week 6 - The Agonies of Animal Play Mon, 10/9 Lecture: The Biological Basis of Animal Play Read: Origins of Animal Play Read: Burghardt, Gordon. The Genesis of Animal Play (PDF pgs: 1-49, 59-61, 72-77; skim rest) QQ: Fire Wed, 10/11 Lecture: Ritual Competition to Moral Combat Read: Sumo Read: Kyle, Donald. Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World, "Origins and Essences: Early Sport and Spectacle," "Conclusion: Ancient Sport and Spectacle" QQ: Ice Fri, 10/13: Due - Article/Chapter Review Week 7 - The Mind at/in Play Mon, 10/16 Lecture: Mind as Musement Machine Read: Bateson, Gregory. "A Theory of Play and Fantasy" Read: Brown, Stuart. "The Brain on Play" QQ: Fire Wed, 10/18 Lecture: Games as Empathy Technologies Read: Murray, Janet. "Games as Joint-Attentional Scenes" QQ: Ice Week 8 - Toys and Games: Industrial Economies of Play Mon, 10/23 Lecture: Construction of Childhood Play Read: Cross, Gary, Kid's Stuff, "Their Toys and Ours," "Feeding the Child's Imagination" QQ: Fire Wed, 10/25 Workshop: Critical Exemplar Project Explore: Avedon, Elliott (Ed.), Virtual Museum: Ancient and Historic Games QQ: Ice Week 9 - Playful Media: Games, Toys, Playgrounds Mon, 10/30 Lecture: Ludus and the Idea of Gameplay Revisited Explore: Avedon, Elliott (Ed.), Virtual Museum: Ancient and Historic Games QQ: Fire Wed, 11/1 Lecture: Ludic Technologies and the Growth of Play Culture Read: Miguel Sicart, "Toys" & "Playgrounds," Pay Matters QQ: Ice Week 10 - Games and the Ludic Century Mon, 11/6 Lecture: Ludus Revisted: The Organization of Play Read: Salen & Zimmerman, "Defining Games," Rules of Play QQ: Fire Wed, 11/8 Lecture: The Gaming Revolution, Part 1 Read: Eric Zimmerman, "The Ludic Century" Watch: Jane McGonigal, "Gaming Can Make a Better World" QQ: Ice Week 11 - The Great Rationalization: Games and Culture Mon, 11/13 Lecture: The Gaming Revolution, Part 2 Read: Henry Jenkins, "Games, the Lively Art" Watch: Paolo Pedercini, "Videogames and the Spirit of Capitalism" QQ: Fire Wed, 11/15 Lecture: The Ludic Avant-garde Read: Paolo Pedrcini, "The Great Art Upgrade" Recommended: Brian Schrank, "Videogames as Avant-garde Art", Avant-garde Videogames QQ: Ice Week 12 - Project Workshop Mon, 11/20 Workshop: NO CLASS / Develop your Critical Exemplar Projects Week 13 - Gameful Worlds and their Discontents Mon, 11/27 Lecture: All the Worlds a Game? Read: Sebastian Deterding, The Gameful World" (excerpts) QQ: Fire Wed, 11/29 Workshop1: Symposium Watch: Paolo Pedercini, "Making Games in a Fucked Up World" QQ: Ice Week 14 - Posthuman Approaches & Project Sharing Mon, 12/4: Due - Critical Exemplar Project Mon, 12/4 Workshop2: Symposium Themes Project Discussions Wed, 12/6 Lecture: Posthuman Gamefulness Read: Ian Bogost, Play Anything (excerpts) Week 15 - Ludosophia Symposium Mon, 12/11 Theme 1: Insights into the History of Play [bring food and drink] Wed, 12/13 Theme 2: The Future of Play [bring food and drink]