Nearly all of my publications are freely available, either open access or in ‘author’s version’ format. Please see the Publications page. And do get…
toys or games
An exploration of the historical, material and formal relationships between toys and games – and how these relationships are remade in the era of digital games and playthings.
LEGO studies
A list, with links, to my various writings on LEGO toys and games
barbaric toys
Illustrated transcript of my keynote talk – Barbaric toys: technologies and bodies in play before and aftermath Human – at the 15th Beyond Humanism…
nervous glitch
Automated Powerpoint presentation made for the inaugural Disability Now! conference at University of Southampton, November 18th 2025. A remix of my recent talk on…
talking toys
Talking toys: a ludic archaeology of the synthetic voice (and impairment) video and transcript of a talk I gave at Winchester School of Art…
playthings and playtimes
Out now! Playthings and Playtimes: play, affect and material culture in the ludic world (UCL Press 2025). In print and open access. Edited by…
toys or barbarism
A brief prologue to my keynote talk at the 15th Beyond Humanism conference at Paris 8 on 26th June. The title ‘Barbaric toys’ was…
ToyTheory reviews
Short but sweet review in neural magazine Longer review, with sharper notes, in the American Journal of Play Interesting range of references in this…
best inventions
The best inventions are child’s play. Literally. (An article in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica by Giuliano Aluffi, featuring my Toy Theory research. Rough…
toyetic thinking
Historically, and globally, the toy has tended to occupy a material-cultural position between the ritual object and the instrumental tool, neither fully sacred nor…
cover
Out in paperback and open access 5th November 2024