CSP 14 Why do we Play?

In the United States, many consider play a normal and important part of a child's development. However, the nature of play varies across ages, cultures, contexts, and communities. Additionally, play is not only for children. It is a much larger phenomenon that includes human adults and the animal kingdom too. Definitions of play have varied across diverse fields such as philosophy, human development, biology, and theater. Additionally, play has been a persistent theme across the ages, with early ontological explorations of play that include writings by Confucius, Plato Saussure, and Derrida. Students will investigate questions such as the following: What is play? How are human play and animal play similar or different? How does play vary across cultures and what are the functions of play? What social factors and institutional practices shape the possibilities for play? What is healthy play? What are the opposites of play? The purpose of this course is to equip students with the conceptual and interpretive tools to interrogate varied kinds of play and anti-play. By making play problematic through close and multidisciplinary analysis, students will hone their critical thinking skills, multidisciplinary problem-solving approaches, and reflexivity.