Outdoor adventure and social theory

Abstract

Outdoor adventure and social theory Reviewed by John Quay University of Melbourne Pike, E. J. C., & Beames, S. (Eds.). (2013). Outdoor adventure and social theory. Oxon: Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415-53267-9 (pbk)Outdoor adventure is a sodal practice, or a collection of various social practices (as are all human endeavors). When individuals engage in outdoor adventure activities they may claim to be trying to get away from society, yet they are still engaging in practices which are socially defined. Even solo wilderness experiences are socially defined, in that they adhere to norms that others comprehend. Accepting this position is a starting point for embracing social theoiy as a way into better understanding what outdoor adventure is. So one aim of this book is to showcase various interpretations of outdoor adventure through the lenses of social theories. But the editors of this book also had a reciprocal aim in mind. In order to better understand outdoor adventure through social theories, one needs to have a grasp of the many and various social theories that abound, especially those that have been applied in attempts to further illuminate what outdoor adventure is. This book provides an excellent overview of these theories as they are applied to address concrete concerns that center on the social practices that we gather together under the banner of outdoor adventure. In this reciprocal way the book delves even deeper, beyond outdoor adventure per se, "to enable readers to more rigorously interpret why people think and act in certain ways" (p. 1). In a sense this aim describes the more basic question that social theories have been formulated to contend with. And it raises as an issue the ways in which outdoor adventure is positioned in the broader social milieu.The group of people who would most benefit from reading this book (my opinion) are those who are seriously raising questions about outdoor adventure; in other words those who are engaged in, or interested in engaging in, research centered on outdoor adventure (which is in itself a social practice!). Central to this research task is to find some congruence or coherence around three things. The first is the problem, issue or question to be investigated. If this problem/issue/ question concerns some aspect of the various social practices that constitute outdoor adventure, then we are in business. The second is the specific phenomenon to be investigated, the more specific social practices in question (as addressed by the method). Here, of course, these social practices have some connection to outdoor adventure, and yet outdoor adventure is a veiy broad banner, so the editors confine it by acknowledging that "most of the adventures to which we are referring are those that can be considered outdoor 'lifestyle sports' (see Wheaton, 2004)" (p. 2). The third is the lens or theoretical framework through which the issue pertaining to the phenomenon will be looked at in an analytical sense (see Figure 1).While I have ordered these three aspects of research practice for the sake of explanation, there is no prescribed order in the actuality of research practice (although when we write the thesis we follow certain conventions in trying to communicate a circular process in a linear way). All three swirl around, co-influencing each other in the play that occurs whenever we think through an investigation. One aspect of this is that "social theories help us to ask questions that we may not have otherwise considered" (p. 159). Shifting and changing conceptualizations of the question, the phenomenon and the theoretical framework contribute to the eventual way in which a position is settled upon (with the maturation of the thesis) that involves a coherency amongst all three. It is this coherency amongst problem, phenomenon and theory that is expressed by each author in this edited collection, thus enabling the reader to gain an understanding of all three in situ. At the same time this strategy showcases the research work of a range of experts in this area, rendering the book a quality collection of recent approaches to issues concerning outdoor adventure and social theory. …