THIS COURSE HAS CURRENTLY FILLED FOR FALL 2025.
All kids play, right? It seems spontaneous, often unstructured, and even though we say “kids need time to play,” we don’t pay a lot of attention to what kids DO when they play.
Who do kids play with? What do they play with, and where? What do they do when they play? Do we all play the same games? Is there variation in how we play – by class, by culture, by gender, by race? How involved are parents in what kids do with their recreation time? Does it matter that kids engage in different kinds of play?
And what about when we grow up: do we still play? What norms do we have about “appropriate” play for adults? How have these changed over time?
Finally, how do we, as a society, create time, space & resources for play? For whom? Are public swimming pools equally available to all? What processes do we put in place for determining when and where we need parks? What kinds of activities should occur in these spaces?
These are the questions we will engage in during the course of this seminar. We will look at toys and games; at how “leisure time” is constructed for kids & adults, and how that has changed over time. We will explore how play is structured at school; and we will explore the consequences of play resources for school, jobs, health, neighborhoods, and relationships.