Articles & Chapters

Ethnography as Play

May 31, 2022

T.L. Taylor, Professor of Comparative Media Studies at MIT

T.L. Taylor explores the complexities of play in games and expands our understanding of the work of ethnography as play.

The author argues that ethnography is a kindred of play. Based on her research of play in digital gaming environments, she draws several parallels between the practices of ethnography and the practices of play. She explores the complexities of play in games and expands our understanding of the work of ethnography as play.

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American Journal of Play, volume 14, number 1.

Written by

T.L. Taylor

T.L. Taylor is a qualitative sociologist who has focused on the interrelations between culture and technology in online environments for over thirty years. Her work sits at the intersection of sociology, critical internet and game studies, and science and technology studies. She is the author of three books on gaming as well as co-author of a handbook on ethnographic methods. In addition to her academic work, she co-founded the non-profit AnyKey and served as its director of research, then advisory committee chair, from 2015-2021. She was also a founding member of Twitch’s Safety Advisory Council and served on it from 2020-2024. She has been visiting researcher at Microsoft Research New England and is regularly sought out for industry consultations. She teaches subjects that include critical internet studies, qualitative methods, and gaming. She is also currently the director of the MIT Game Lab.