Thomas Henricks Ph.D.

Thomas Henricks, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Elon University, where he was formerly Danieley Professor of Sociology and Distinguished University Professor. Much of his scholarship has focused on the nature of human play, particularly as that activity can be contrasted to other pathways for human expression, including ritual, communities, and work. More generally, he studies how experience and self-awareness are socially and culturally constructed. He is the author of numerous writings on play, many of which have appeared in The American Journal of Play and in Play and Culture Studies. His books include Disputed Pleasures: Sport and Society in Preindustrial England; Play Reconsidered: Sociological Perspectives on Human Expression, Selves, Societies, and Emotions: Understanding the Pathways of Experience, Play and the Human Condition, and most recently (2020) Play:A Basic Pathway to the Self. He is a co-editor of the 2015 Handbook of the Study of Play. He serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Play and International Journal of Play.