ANT3711 ST: Anthropology of Games and Play

This course will explore how games and play intersect with social and cultural settings. By using the lens of play, the course will provide a viewpoint on the variability and commonality of contemporary human cultures. We will explore games and play (both modern and traditional) as a means of symbolic communication and a way to both enculturate and acculturate societal members. Case studies will focus on key issues in anthropology such as gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, class and stratification, violence, urban space, (post)colonialism, nationalism, and globalization. Emphasis will be put on ethnographic research methods and the empirical, scientific approaches used to conduct qualitative field work. Students will design an ethnographic study related to a local micro-culture, using observation, interviewing and archived materials. The course will culminate in the presentation of students’ personal, ethnographic projects. Credits: 3.000