Of Dice and Men: Games in Human Societies Past and Present

Catalog description

From ancient dice games, marathons, and gladiator battles to virtual worldbuilding and mobile phone games, students in this course will explore the roles of competition and play in cultures. But, equally importantly, students will play games! We will consider games through the lenses of anthropology, archaeology, psychology, and philosophy. And by playing games, both ancient and modern, students will question how games are a distinctly human phenomenon and play essential parts in human lives, in ways that are not entirely obvious or expected.