*International Journal of Play*: Call for papers for forthcoming Special
Issue

*Lifework and Legacy*

*Reviewing Iona and Peter Opie’s Contribution to the Study of Play*

The work of Iona (1923– ) and Peter Opie (1918–1982) on the play and games
of school-aged children will be familiar to many who study the social and
cultural aspects of children’s lives. Working as independent and unfunded
scholars, the Opies published five books on this topic: *The Lore and
Language of Schoolchildren* (1959), *Children’s Games in Street and
Playground* (1969), *The Singing Game* (1985), *Children’s Games with
Things *(1997), and Iona Opie’s solo volume,* The People in the
Playground*(1993). Distilled from data collected principally from
schoolchildren
during the period 1950–80 (now held at the British Library Sound Archive,
the Folklore Society Archives, and the Bodleian Libraries), as well as
pioneering historical research, these publications have been widely read
and extremely influential.

2013 marks the year of Iona Opie’s 90th birthday and what would have been
Peter Opie’s 95th. To mark this event, *a special issue of the International
Journal of Play in 2014 is planned*, devoted to the Opies, their research
and their spheres of influence. The guest editors of this special issue
(no. 3 in 2014) will be June Factor and Julia Bishop who warmly encourage
contributions. Possible topics include (but are not restricted to):

·         Critical evaluations of Iona and Peter Opie’s lives and work,
collaborations with others, scholarly influences, predecessors,
contemporaries.

·         Critical considerations of the Opies’ data, such as its wider
social and demographic context, the relationship between their archival
data and their books.

·         The extent and nature of the Opies’ influence in the UK and in
other countries among those interested in children’s folklore, especially
play.

·         Forms of play; classification of games.

·         The historical and comparative study of play.

·         The ethnographic study of play, including research methods.

·         Themes and issues exemplified in the Opies’ work, such as the
relationships between media, commerce and play; risk; place, space and play.

Submissions of up to 7000 words are welcomed, as well as shorter articles
(up to 2000 words) of memoir and reflection.  Please check the *International
Journal of Play *website for details regarding presentation of material.

Deadline:  1 April, 2014

Email contact:

June Factor: j.factor@unimelb.edu.au

Julia Bishop: Julia.bishop@blueyonder.co.uk

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