1st Edition
The Playful University Philosophy, Pedagogy, Politics and Principles
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
Nicola Whitton and Rikke Toft Nørgård
Part I: Playful Philosophy
2. Expanding the playful university: Democracy and locality
Rikke Toft Nørgård and Herdis Toft
3. Chaos in the university – playing the dangerous game
Søren S.E. Bengtsen
4. On the Strange Relationship between Play and Wonder
Finn Thorbjørn Hansen
Philosophy: Global voices
5. Collaborative guided play for teacher education and development at a South African University
Sarah Gravett
6. “Catch me if you can”: Learning to Play in a Jungle of Expectations
Fitri Suraya Mohamad
7. Response: A playfulness of ease and love
Nuraan Davids
Part II: Playful Pedagogy
8. Play order in an educational context: Exploring Play Qualities through Play Practices
Helle Marie Skovbjerg and Helle Hovgaard Jørgensen
9. Everything to play for
Alison James
10. Rethinking the University Curriculum, Playfully
Alex Moseley
Pedagogy: Global voices
11. Playful University: Gamification Activities in the Territories of Higher Education in Türkiye
Pınar Ayyildiz
12. Finding the freedom to play in HE in Japan
James York
Part III: Playful Politics
13. Playful Collaboration in Higher Education – Imagining a Relational Pedagogy of Care, Interdependence and Soulfulness
Kim Holflod
14. From “Gaming the Metrics” to the “Well-Played University” – Audit Culture, Game Design Patterns and Re-designing Our Institutions
Luca Morini
15. The Naked University
Nicola Whitton
Politics: Global voices
16. Learning as an infinite game – changing the pedagogy from “I HAVE to” to “I WANT to
Benny Faibish
17. Politics in the Playful University
Vinay Kumar
Part IV: Playful Principles
18. Principles of the Playful University
Rikke Toft Nørgård and Nicola Whitton
Biography
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.
