People in GAMESOC
Article
The following people are involved in the GAMESOC project.
Prof Rebecca Cassidy
Rebecca Cassidy is Professor of Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London and was the principle investigator for ‘Gambling in Europe’.
Previously Rebecca conducted research into the thoroughbred racing industry in Newmarket and in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, producing two monographs about horseracing and betting in Britain and the United States.
Find out more about Professor Rebecca Cassidy
Dr Claire Loussouarn
Claire Loussouarn was a Research Fellow in Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her PhD dissertation explored casino gambling among Chinese migrants in London while her postdoctoral research focuses on the British spread-betting industry.
Loussouarn, C. (2013). ‘Spread Betting and the City of London’ In Cassidy, R, C. Loussouarn and A. Pisac (eds.) Qualitative Research in Gambling: Exploring the production and consumption of risk, London: Routledge.
Gambling is not in the blood (Claire Loussouarn and Naomi Allen)
This is a short film about a speech given by Claire Loussouarn as part of a debate 'Gambling with our communities?' organised by Chinese for Labour at the occasion of the Labour conference on Monday 23 September 2013. Concerned by the growing impact that gambling has on its community and beyond, Chinese for Labour invited along with Claire Loussouarn, David Lammy, Tottenham MP, Rowenna Davies, PPC Southampton Itchen and Professor Jim Orford to share their view on the current landscape of gambling in Britain and its impact on local communities. Claire Loussouarn who finished in 2010 a PhD about Chinese casino players in London challenges the idea that Chinese people have gambling in their blood. She argues that such sweeping statements take responsibility away from the role of the gambling industry, the government, regulation and technology and therefore divert the public from the political debate we should be having about gambling. The film is available to view on YouTube
Find out more about Dr Claire Loussouarn
Dr Andrea Pisac
Andrea Pisac was a Research Fellow in Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her PhD dissertation explored how foreign books travelling to the UK readership create textual authenticity and authority. Her postdoctoral research focuses on casino and card gambling in Slovenia and its neighbouring regions.
Pisac, A. (2013). ‘Croupiers’ Sleight of Mind: Playing With Unmanaged ‘Spaces’ In the Casino Industry’ In Cassidy, R, C. Loussouarn and A. Pisac (eds.) Qualitative Research in Gambling: Exploring the production and consumption of risk, London: Routledge.
Bela the card game
This is a short film about how a card game negotiates boundaries between play and work, first presented at Relocating Borders an international, cross disciplinary conference in Berlin. In keeping with the iterative, reflexive and dialogic methodology of GAMSOC, a viewing of the film was held for participants in Slovenia and Croatia in 2012. Their responses formed the basis for further discussions about the role of card games in their lives. The buzz generated by the film in the region earned Andrea an invitation to lecture at the National Association of Croatian anthropologists (an important regional hub for work on South Eastern Europe). A member of the Association commented: 'the film is done in such a clever and captivating way, you never even notice there are no faces in it, just hands.' The film is available to view on YouTube
Was I here? The nine lives of the Palace hotel
This film depicts one of the most prestigious hotels built during the Tito’s Yugoslavia, where in 1972 a Penthouse-run casino was opened and operated for a few years. While local people worked there, it pandered to the rich American clientele. In the 1990s the hotel fell into bad neglect as a result of complex post-socialist processes of money and property denationalization. Its ruins remain today, reminding local people as well as politicians of the ‘socialist glory’ and the transitions to the market-based economies of the west that followed. ‘It would cost more to tear it down than to rebuild it’, said one the local residents. Andrea’s film was selected for the 'Totally Lost' exhibition, held in Forlì, 4-16 June 2013 in the ex deposito delle corriere ATR, in Piazzetta Savonarola. The exhibition is part of The European project ATRIUM – Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes of the XX Century in Urban Management – which focuses on the architectural heritage of different totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century in Europe, to create a European Cultural Route. The film is available to view on YouTube
You can also read Andrea's blog post about the making of the film.
Find out more about Dr Andrea Pisac
Dr Julie Scott
Julie previously conducted research into the cultural politics of tourism in Cyprus. Julie is an academic staff member at the London Metropolitan Business School. Julie conducted ethnographic research as part of the ‘Gambling in Europe’ project into land-based casinos in Cyprus.
Scott, J. (2013). ‘‘Playing Properly’: Casinos, Blackjack, and Cultural Intimacy in Cyprus’ In Cassidy, R, C. Loussouarn and A. Pisac (eds.) Qualitative Research in Gambling: Exploring the production and consumption of risk, London: Routledge.
