Mahindra Humanities Center Harvard

Ludics focuses on the concepts of play and games, widely interpreted. Interdisciplinary at its core, it aims by means of innovative approaches at fostering an open dialogue among scholars who are interested in exploring the ludic principle across a broad spectrum of human culture, from literature, rhetoric, and theater to law, economy, and politics.

CHAIR

Vassiliki Raptirapti@fas.harvard.edu

GRADUATE STUDENT COORDINATOR

Ilana Friedman

Upcoming Events

Panos Panay, BerkleeICE

Creativity and Entrepreneurship

Tuesday, February 2, 2016 - 5:30pm

Room 128, Barker Center

John Robinson-Appels, Columbia University

Comedy, Physicality, and Ludic Dance Gestures

Tuesday, February 16, 2016 - 7:30pm

Room 110, Barker Center

Nicholas Knouf, Wellesley University

Women Gamers, Women Game-Makers

Monday, February 22, 2016 - 6:00pm

Location TBA

Abstract

Gamers can no longer be understood to be primarily men. Recent gaming industry surveys have shown that women now make up one of the largest playing demographics. Yet those who identify as women in online gaming communities can still face extensive harassment, both online and off. Women are also woefully underrepresented as game developers. To better understand these issues, my colleagues and I have recently conducted a survey of students and alumnae at Wellesley College to explore issues of representation, race, and gender in contemporary electronic gaming. Our results present an incredibly heterogeneous picture that cannot be easily subsumed into the media soundbytes that have followed recent controversies such as #Gamergate. I will talk about what this means for the future development of gaming, highlighting games produced by students in my classes, as well as tying these conversations to old and new work in feminist theories of technology.

Past Events 2015 - 16

Mary Flanagan, Dartmouth College

Constance Rinaldo, Harvard University

Purposeful Gaming

Andromache Karanika, University of California, Irvine

Τhe Dissonance of Ludic Poetics in Greek Wedding Song Tradition: A Workshop on the "Interdiscursivity" between the Epithalamia and the Laments in Greek Antiquity

Franziska Naether, University of Leipzig

Casino Royale in Ancient Skyscrapers? On Recent Finds from Roman Tower Houses in Tuna el-Gebel (Egypt)

Danuta Fjellestad, Uppsala University

The Ludic Impulse in Post-Postmodern Fiction

Christian Gütl, Graz University of Technology

Johanna Pirker, Graz University of Technology

Crossing: Virtual Experiences, Games, and Teaching

Past Events 2014 - 15

Zoa Alonso Fernández, Harvard University

Ludi, Ludic, Ludicrous: Choreographing Rome from Spartacus to Caligula

James N. Stone, Boston University

Playing Scrabble with Sappho: A Translation Workshop for Anyone Interested in the Interplay of Poetry, Translation, and Play

Mary Yossi, University of Athens

Laughter in Greek Lyric Poetry

Nicole Nolette, Harvard University

Games Translators Play in Bilingual French-Canadian Theater

Past Events 2013 - 14

Amy Ogata, Bard Graduate Center

Playing with Design: Cultivating Childhood Creativity in Postwar America

Brian Waniewski

Playing to Engage: How to Revitalize Society

Patrick Hutchinson, Brown University

Panayotis League, Harvard University

Tom Zajac, Wellesley College

Sounds from Europe's Margins: Bagpipes in Boston