René Reinhold Schallegger is an associated professor for British-, Canadian-, and game studies at the University of Klagenfurt (Austria). Series editor Matthew Wilhelm Kapell teaches American studies, anthropology, and writing at Pace University in New York.

“In this groundbreaking study, Schallegger argues that critical and scholarly study of role-playing games (RPGs) reveals crucial insights about how collaborative participation in storytelling contributes to cultural progress.... required reading...essential”—Choice; “pulls out key concepts of postmodernism as well as basic stories of play and games and maps them against tabletop roleplaying...I could easily see this being used as a highly serviceable text”—The Green Man Review.

• Table of ContentsPreface: Joyful Games of ­Meaning-Making1 ■ The Power of Words: Postmodernism in a Nutshell2 ■ Homo Ludens: Theories of Play and Games3 ■ Of Dice and (Wo)Men: What Are ­Role-Playing Games?4 ■ Generations: The Origins and Development of RPGs5 ■ Constructing Understanding: RPG Theory6 ■ Metalanguage: Critical Literature on RPGs7 ■ Reframing: Alternative Theoretical PerspectivesConclusion: Making ConnectionsAbbreviations UsedChapter NotesBibliographyIndex