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microethology

Seth Giddings' research site

My book Toy Theory, held open at a page featuring an image of a Pop doll version of Buzz Lightyear as 'Mrs Nesbit' in Toy Story.

read me!

Posted on July 4, 2025July 4, 2025 By sethgiddings

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…

screenshot from the Nintendo GameBoy Advance 2003

miniature war

Posted on June 7, 2026June 7, 2026 By sethgiddings

The commercial, cultural, and ludic economics of games have played out between the tabletop roleplaying and wargames and their more successful digital cousins over…

'Double Yellow' a video by Rabia Raja, displayed on a wall-mounted screen at WSA

intrusive images

Posted on June 7, 2026June 7, 2026 By sethgiddings

In May, Louise Siddons and I organised Intrusive Images, a festival of moving image work by Winchester School of Art staff and postgrad students….

machin thinking

Posted on June 7, 2026June 7, 2026 By sethgiddings

Whisper your decisions, dictate your instructions, and proclaim your victories to it […] Nothing could be more useful, and nothing more useless: when the…

composite image of screenshots from Legend of Zelda and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, each showing a puzzle environment

toys or games

Posted on December 11, 2025December 11, 2025 By sethgiddings

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

Posted on December 5, 2025December 5, 2025 By sethgiddings

A list, with links, to my various writings on LEGO toys and games

barbaric toys

Posted on November 23, 2025November 23, 2025 By sethgiddings

Illustrated transcript of my keynote talk – Barbaric toys: technologies and bodies in play before and aftermath Human – at the 15th Beyond Humanism…

nervous glitch

Posted on November 23, 2025January 20, 2026 By sethgiddings

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

Posted on November 23, 2025November 23, 2025 By sethgiddings

Talking toys: a ludic archaeology of the synthetic voice (and impairment) video and transcript of a talk I gave at Winchester School of Art…

image of the book cover

playthings and playtimes

Posted on October 29, 2025October 29, 2025 By sethgiddings

Out now! Playthings and Playtimes: play, affect and material culture in the ludic world (UCL Press 2025). In print and open access. Edited by…

Photograph of me delivering my talk. I'm sitting at a desk and a behind me is projected two images of cuddly toys in the rubble of Gaza and one of Pedro Pascal wearing a t-shirt with the slogan 'Protect the Dolls.'

toys or barbarism

Posted on July 4, 2025October 29, 2025 By sethgiddings

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

Posted on June 17, 2025July 10, 2025 By sethgiddings

Short but sweet review in neural magazine Longer review, with sharper notes, in the American Journal of Play Interesting range of references in this…

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what is microethology?

Theory and practice of playful media and technology, by Seth Giddings.

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  • miniature war
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  • LEGO studies

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