Play in the Long Nineteenth Century
Call for Papers -- Play in the Long Nineteenth Century
17th January 2025
University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
While the long nineteenth century is not immediately associated with playfulness, scholars recognise it as a period that revolutionised play, whether as an end (Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens 1944) or a reimaging (Matthew Kaiser, The World in Play, 2011). Games were ubiquitous throughout the period, hundreds of dedicated recreational spaces (museums, playgrounds, parks) were established, and a new cult of leisure took root that reshaped both public and private life.