Sutton-Smith, Brian. <br/><br/>
The ambiguity of play / 
Brian Sutton-Smith. 
 - x, 276 pages ;  25 cm 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-271) and index. 
<br/><br/>1. Play and Ambiguity -- 2. Rhetorics of Animal Progress -- 3. Rhetorics of Child Play -- 4. Rhetorics of Fate -- 5. Rhetorics of Power -- 6. Rhetorics of Identity -- 7. Child Power and Identity -- 8. Rhetorics of the Imaginary -- 9. Child Phantasmagoria -- 10. Rhetorics of Self -- 11. Rhetorics of Frivolity -- 12. Conclusion. 
<br/><br/> Sutton-Smith focuses on play theories rooted in seven distinct "rhetorics" - the ancient discourses of fate, power, communal identity, and frivolity and the modern discourses of progress, the imaginary, and the self. In a sweeping analysis that moves from the question of play in child development to the implications of play for the Western work ethic, he explores the values, historical sources, and interests that have dictated the terms and forms of play put forth in each discourse's "objective" theory. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>0674017331 9780674017337 
<br/><br/><label>LCCN: </label>97021713 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Play--Psychological aspects
<br/><br/><label>LC Class. No.: </label>BF717.  / S93 1997 
<br/><br/><label>Dewey Class. No.: </label>155