Play and the Human Condition
Published on 15. April 2015
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-252-03907-2 (ISBN)
Description
In Play and the Human Condition, Thomas Henricks brings together ways of considering play to probe its essential relationship to work, ritual, and communitas. Focusing on five contexts for play--the psyche, the body, the environment, society, and culture--Henricks identifies conditions that instigate play, and comments on its implications for those settings. Offering a general theory of play as behavior promoting self-realization, Henricks articulates a conception of self that includes individual and social identity, particular and transcendent connection, and multiple fields of involvement. Henricks also evaluates play styles from history and contemporary life to analyze the relationship between play and human freedom. Imaginative and stimulating, Play and the Human Condition shows how play allows us to learn about our qualities and those of the world around us--and in so doing make sense of ourselves.
Reviews / Votes
"This work will help shape and unify the field of play studies. I have not read its equal; in fact, there is nothing elsewhere quite like it."--Scott G. Eberle, vice president for play studies at The Strong National Museum of Play
"Play and the Human Condition is a book as ambitious as its title... An erudite reading of the vast tradition of play studies, from sociology and psychology to cultural anthropology. It is also an original contribution to understanding play--provocative, informative and enlightening."--American Journal of Play
"Profound and reasonable, accessible and well-written, and wide-ranging while confident of the details of past scholarship and current theory over a range of disciplines. This work will help shape and unify the field of play studies. I have not read its equal; in fact, there is nothing elsewhere quite like it."--Scott G. Eberle, vice president for play studies at The Strong National Museum of Play
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1 chart, 1 table
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
513 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-252-03907-2 (9780252039072)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Thomas S. Henricks
Play and the Human Condition
E-Book
04/2015
1st Edition
University of Illinois Press
€23.99
Available for download
Person
Thomas S. Henricks is the Danieley Professor of Sociology at Elon University and author of Play Reconsidered: Sociological Perspectives on Human Expression.
Content
CoverTitleContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Variations on a Theme2. Play Compared to Other Behaviors3. Play as Sense-Making4. The Psychology of Play5. Play's Nature6. Play and the Physical Environment7. The Social Life of Play8. Cultural Play9. The Play of PossibilityReferencesIndex