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Peter G Stromberg Ph.D.

About

Peter Stromberg is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Tulsa. Dr. Stromberg received his Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology from Stanford in 1981. He also completed post-doctoral fellowships in psychiatry and human development, working with (among others) Roy D'Andrade, Melford Spiro, and Erik Erikson. In his recent book Caught in Play, he looks closely at how we engage entertainment and at the ideas and practices it creates and sustains. Though entertainment is for fun, it does not have a trivial effect on our lives. Entertainment generates commitments to values we are not always willing to acknowledge: values of pleasure, self-indulgence, and consumption.

Books by Peter G Stromberg Ph.D.
Recent Posts
Celebrities and Scapegoats
Our fascination with beautiful people reflects an age-old idea: they are the best representation of what we are. Strangely enough, that can make them ideal sacrificial victims.
Boring Doesn't Just Mean Dull

Here’s what I usually say about boredom: In an entertainment culture, people come to expect and desire a high level of arousal. When this level of stimulation is unavailable—perhaps when a person is at work or school—they feel bored.

Here’s what I usually say about boredom: In an entertainment culture, people come to expect and desire a high level of arousal. When this level of stimulation is unavailable—perhaps when a person is at work or school—they feel bored.

Why They Call It Madness

Through play we can engage in battle with others without real-world consequences. Or we can experience strong feelings without putting ourselves in dangerous situations. Play happens in an imaginary world, a world that doesn't count. That's true, but it's also false.

Through play we can engage in battle with others without real-world consequences. Or we can experience strong feelings without putting ourselves in dangerous situations. Play happens in an imaginary world, a world that doesn't count. That's true, but it's also false.

Fans of Fans

I recently watched a documentary about Harry Potter fans called "We Are Wizards." I'm afraid I can't recommend the film, it's pretty incoherent. But it was also fascinating in a disturbing sort of way, because it depicted a type of behavior I've never really noticed before: fans of fans.

I recently watched a documentary about Harry Potter fans called "We Are Wizards." I'm afraid I can't recommend the film, it's pretty incoherent. But it was also fascinating in a disturbing sort of way, because it depicted a type of behavior I've never really noticed before: fans of fans.