Anna Beresin

Fulbright-University of Sheffield Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

Anna Beresin is professor of psychology and folklore at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the US. She holds two simultaneous PhDs from the University of Pennsylvania with a specialization in children’s folklore. She serves as co-editor of the Taylor and Francis publication, The International Journal of Play, and her newest book is Play in a Covid Frame: Everyday Pandemic Creativity in a Time of Isolation, coedited with Julia Bishop of the University of Sheffield. Anna Beresin’s book Recess Battles: Playing, Fighting, and Storytelling won the Opie Award in Children’s Folklore from the American Folklore Society, and she has recently contributed to a book on Play and Social Justice. She has studied primate play, play and art, mock violent play, and breaktime in schools. All of her research asks: How is play a window into creative thinking and social life? Visit her at the globalrecessalliance.org and annaberesin.com.