How can parents, educators, business leaders and policy makers nurture creativity, prepare for inventiveness and stimulate innovation? One compelling answer, this book argues, lies in fostering the invention of imaginary worlds, a.k.a. worldplay. First emerging in middle childhood, this complex form of make-believe draws lifelong energy from the fruitful combustions of play, imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, trends in modern life conspire to break down the synergies of creative play with imaginary worlds. Unstructured playtime in childhood has all but disappeared. Invent-it-yourself make-believe places have all but succumbed in adolescence to ready-made computer games. Adults are discouraged from playing as a waste of time with no relevance to the workplace. Narrow notions of creativity exile the fictive imagination to fantasy arts. And yet, as Michele Root-Bernstein demonstrates by means of historical inquiry, quantitative study and contemporary interview, spontaneous worldplay in childhood develops creative potential, and strategic worldplay in adulthood inspires innovations in the sciences and social sciences as well as the arts and literature. Inventing imaginary worlds develops the skills society needs for inventing the future. For more on Inventing Imaginary Worlds, check out: www.inventingimaginaryworlds.com Check out Michele's website: www.inventingimaginaryworlds.com
List of Figures Introduction The Story of Worldplay Acknowledgments Part One: Discovering Worldplay Where It Grows Chapter 1: Hidden Worlds of Play: A Journey Through the Land of Kar Chapter 2: Searching for Paracosms: How One Man Found the Imaginary Worlds of Childhood Chapter 3: Memory Counts: MacArthur Fellows and College Students Recall Childhood Play Part Two: Exploring the Gardens of Make-Believe Chapter 4: Pretense and Place: The Poetics of Play in Middle Childhood Chapter 5: Imaginary Countries and Gifted Play: First Investigations of 'Creative IQ' Chapter 6: A Learning Laboratory in Creative Practice: Plumbing the Plausible Imagination Part Three: Grafting Worldplay to Adult Work Chapter 7: The Maturation of Creative Imagination: Robert Louis Stevenson as Mentor Chapter 8: Worldplay at Work: MacArthur Fellows Straddle a Creative Divide Chapter 9: The Worldplay Avocation-Vocation: Case Studies in Creative Polymathy Part 4: Sowing the Seeds of Worldplay Chapter 10: Imaginary World Invention Goes to School: An Argument for Playful Learning Chapter 11: Worldplay the Computer Way: Children and Youth Reveal Their Lived Experience Chapter 12: The Creative Capital of Make-Believe: How to Support Children Playing at Their Best Conclusion. Wither the Worldplay Impulse? Appendix. A Childhood Worldplay List Endnotes Bibliography
