Welcome to the new thoughtcrime site at marc-armitage.com. This is not a blog page, so what is it? It’s a place for writing, that’s what. ‘But isn’t that the same as a blog page?’ I hear you ask, and the answer is, well, not really, no.
In a day of social media and electronic communications we have become used to a diet of short, pithy pieces that often skim a subject or which provide a soundbite of news and opinion. Although there might at times be short and observational pieces on here this is a place to read more substantial, referenced essays with a bite. The average length of an essay on here will be about 1,800 words which would take most people around 10 minutes to read.
But it is about more than reading: it is about reflection, engagement and sharing.
One of the most significant things about this thing called play is that it is of interest to so many different groups of people, not the least of whom are children and young people. Play is a topic that has fascinated professionals and laypeople alike for centuries and literally millions of words and miles of audio and video tape have been allocated to it. Yet there is a problem.
As academics or practitioners we have a habit of trapping ourselves inside a bubble that limits our appreciation of play to the dominant perspective of our approach. Thoughtcrime is going to dare us to reach outside that bubble because to gain a real understanding of play requires a multi-disciplinary, multi-approach study. We quite simply have to read outside of our comfort-zone bubble and dip into pieces and authors who we might not ordinarily consider, or even know of, because if we want to know more about play then we need to know about more than play.
Expect to see pieces about the link between play, playing and playwork with sociology, philosophy, psychoanalysis, zoology, history, geography, liminality, economics, linguistics, neuroscience, forensics, politics, art, logic, engineering, psychology, physiology, folklore, pedagogy, freedom, community, evolution, policy, health, crime, design, music, media, ethics, affordance, technology, culture, myths, irony, forensics, aesthetics, power, anarchy and more.
Our guide will be the books and the people that have influenced and continue to influence my own working life; your challenge is to join in, reflect, share and engage. We will start subtle and after some time will begin to introduce guest writers who will add their own perspective.
Please introduce others to this page, share it, talk about and engage with it. Ask questions, express your opinion. You can join by hitting the RSS feed on the top right of the Home Page that will alert you to new pieces by email and comments can be added at the bottom of each page. The archive tab includes a selected number of pieces from my old blog page and they too are open for comment and critique.
Strap yourselves in for the ride and enjoy. First published piece comes out tomorrow, Sunday 26th 2016 ... read it bed with a cup of hot chocolate.
Marc Armitage
26th November 2016
