The Art of Play

Semester and Year	FA 2010
Course Number	ARTS-UG1110
Section	001
Instructor	Maria Hodermarska
Days	Thu
Time	9:30 AM - 12:15 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement

Description

We know that for children play is more than just fun; it is the work through which they develop. But what about when adults play? Plato wrote, “Life must be lived as play.” Through play we find our freedom, spontaneity, and our aesthetic. What is there in human beings that enables us to play? Why is play considered an innate capacity of people from the beginning of recorded history? What qualifies as play? When does play become art? In this course, everyone plays and in doing so examines the historic and contemporary uses of play as a universal impulse of humans, across generations and time. Play’s capacity to mitigate the grosser aspects of life will be considered. We will examine play as it is reflected through theories of child development, dramatic improvisation, fine art, politics, technology, the symbolism of fairy tales, the historic and contemporary, uses of puppets, masks, performance, and ritual across all cultures. Students will examine the necessity of play in their own child and adult lives—the creative spirit, the adventurer, and empathic connection with humanity, and laughter, too. Books may include: Nachmanovitch’s Free Play , Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment , Huizinga’s Homo Ludens , Jung’s Man and His Symbols , Nietzche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra .

Course Type

Arts Workshops (ARTS-UG)