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book: When Play Was Play
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When Play Was Play

Why Pick-up Games Matter
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2010

About this book

A celebration of childhood pick-up games.

When Play Was Play offers a fascinating look at the disappearing world of childhood pick-up games. Drawing on his own experiences as well as a wealth of interviews and surveys, Ronald Bishop tells why these loosely structured games mattered-camaraderie, opportunities to develop social skills, and independence from the world of adults. Bishop contrasts his and others' childhoods with the experiences of today's overscheduled and overcommitted youth who find much of their time taken up by organized sports and other highly supervised activities. When Play Was Play celebrates memories of a past era, when kids were free to explore their neighborhoods, had time to throw together an afternoon game of stickball, and spent much of their lives playing outside just for the sake of playing.

Author / Editor information

Contributor: Ronald Bishop Ronald Bishop is Associate Professor in the Department of Culture and Communication at Drexel University and is the author of Taking on the Pledge of Allegiance: The News Media and Michael Newdow's Constitutional Challenge.

Reviews

"…engaging and thought provoking; it situates play where it ought to be: in the realm of joy and freedom." — Journal of Social History

"An interesting mix of nostalgic reminiscence about and scholarly analysis of child's play." — CHOICE

Topics

  • Publicly Available

    Front Matter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Acknowledgments

    vii
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    Introduction

    1
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    Less Time Spent Schmoozing

    13
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    Does Anybody Play Anymore?

    31
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    The Consecrated Spots

    49
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    No Purpose In Mind

    71
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    Out Of Necessity

    95
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    Say Goodbye To Hollywood

    115
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    It Didn't Take Much

    135
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    Leave Those Kids Alone

    155
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    They Call it "Tennockey"

    173
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    Participation Flyer

    189
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    References

    191
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    Index

    199
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
April 16, 2024
eBook ISBN:
9781438426310
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
213
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781438426310
eBook ISBN: 9781438426310
Keywords for this book
Communication : Communication; Cultural Studies : Cultural Critique; Psychology : Play; Sociology : Family Studies
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
Downloaded on 28.4.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781438426310/html?lang=en
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