This book provides philosophical, political and practical insights that open ways for the university in going beyond its tightly controlled state and into more playful and imaginative futures.
In the context of a marketised and regulated environment that stifles creativity and curiosity in higher education, this collection provides an antidote that lies in the potential of play. It identifies tactics and tools for playful practices to conjure real utopias and pathways for the present and possible futures. Pulling together global perspectives from a wide array of different disciplines including higher education, sociology, philosophy, media studies, design, literature, play studies, game studies and political science, it concludes with a collaborative chapter that offers philosophically and theoretically grounded principles for the playful university. The book shows that it is possible to reimagine a higher education in which students and staff approach their studies with a sense of purpose, care, and openness to explore, imagine and build a better future.
Looking beyond pedagogy to imagination, and wonder as important perspectives within the university, this is an essential read for those interested in play and subversion in higher education.
1. Introduction Part I: Playful Philosophy 2. Expanding the playful university: Democracy and locality 3. Chaos in the university – playing the dangerous game 4. On the Strange Relationship between Play and Wonder Philosophy: Global voices 5. Collaborative guided play for teacher education and development at a South African University 6. “Catch me if you can”: Learning to Play in a Jungle of Expectations 7. Response: A playfulness of ease and love Part II: Playful Pedagogy 8. Play order in an educational context: Exploring Play Qualities through Play Practices 9. Everything to play for 10. Rethinking the University Curriculum, Playfully Pedagogy: Global voices 11. Playful University: Gamification Activities in the Territories of Higher Education in Türkiye 12. Finding the freedom to play in HE in Japan Part III: Playful Politics 13. Playful Collaboration in Higher Education – Imagining a Relational Pedagogy of Care, Interdependence and Soulfulness 14. From “Gaming the Metrics” to the “Well-Played University” – Audit Culture, Game Design Patterns and Re-designing Our Institutions 15. The Naked University Politics: Global voices 16. Learning as an infinite game – changing the pedagogy from “I HAVE to” to “I WANT to17. Politics in the Playful University
Rikke Toft Nørgård is an Associate Professor at the Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Denmark. Nicola Whitton is Professor of Digital Learning and Play at Northumbria University, UK.
