To introduce students to the main contemporary issues around play and games. To develop students understanding of the relationships between play, labour and virtuality. To enable students to reflect on their own preconceptions of play and value.

(LO1) Students will be able to explain the importance of play as a topic for study.

(LO2) Students will be able to analyse common topics of discourse around play and games, especially digital games: violence, addiction, therapeutic and educational effects, and gamification.

(LO3) Students will be able to identify philosophical issues arising from specific games/instances of play.

(LO4) Students will be able to explain some of the philosophical literature around play, make-believe, choice and responsibility, and virtual worlds.

(LO5) Students will be able to trace connections between surface controversies and deeper philosophical concerns.

(LO6) Students will develop their ability to reflect on their own preconceptions and how these contribute to both philosophical and popular discourse.

(S1) Students will develop their skills in thinking critically, analysing problems and analysing and assessing arguments.

(S2) Students will enhance their ability to identify unifying philosophical issues in everyday discussions and mass-media environments.

(S3) Students will develop confidence in considering previously unfamiliar ideas and approaches.

(S4) Students will develop their ability to identify their own presumptions and to reflect critically upon them.

(S5) Students will enhance their ability to marshal arguments and present them orally and in writing.

(S6) Students will develop the ability to perform bibliographical searches, use and reference academic sources, and to plan, organise and produce presentations and essays.

(S7) Students will enhance their oral and written communications skills and develop skill in explaining complex material in a precise manner.

(S8) Students will develop their ability to work independently.

(S9) Students will develop their ability to sift through information, assessing the relevance and importance of the information to what is at issue.

(S10) Students will develop their skills in making appropriate use of information technology, including online sources, video and screen capture and editing, and visual presentation aids.

This module introduces students to the major philosophical issues associated with play, games (especially digital games) and virtual worlds. It examines both the philosophical literature around play and contemporary concerns expressed in relationship to the growth of the video games industry, including addiction, violence, 'gamification' and the use of play and software for education and therapy. Students will learn to challenge common assumptions, including their own, about the triviality of play in relation to modern constructions of labour and value, and develop an understanding of how these assumptions underpin both popular and academic discussion of games.

Teaching Method 1 - Lecture
Description: 10 x 1 hour lectures. Lectures are tutor-led activities, offering a map of the syllabus and a framework for independent enquiry-led research. Students are encouraged to engage actively with lectures through, for example: (i) taking opportunities to ask questions during the session; (ii) reflecting on and responding to questions posed to them; (iii) producing questions and notes on issues for subsequent group discussion in seminars.
Attendance Recorded: No

Teaching Method 2 - Seminar
Description: 9 x 1 hour seminars. Seminars are formative spaces of applied and enquiry-led learning based on pre-set readings and facilitated by the tutor. Seminars thus offer opportunities for students to respond to tutor- and peer-set questions, deepen understanding, apply ideas, develop arguments and build confidence through group discussion.
Attendance Recorded: Yes

Teaching Method 3 - Pitching Session
Description: 1 hour. The f irst stage of the assessment process, the presentations, is delivered in small group sessions where each student 'pitches' their choice of example and explains why it is a good illustration of their chosen topic. This allows students to broaden their understanding of the field through peer-to-peer communication, and mimics an increasingly common workplace activity, allowing the presentations to function as authentic assessment.
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: These sessions take place in week 6 (or week 7 if week 6 is reading week)