Sociology Of Leisure Research Articles

The definers and standard setters of security: mapping the security field’s regulators through European football

ABSTRACT By drawing upon and attaching a new layer to the “security field” concept, this article examines and conceptualizes European security practices and challenges through the lens of European football. At a critical juncture for security in both Europe and football, this article questions (i) how the supranational regulation informing European football’s security field has evolved since 1985 and (ii) how exactly the security field’s regulators – the Council of Europe, Council of the EU, and UEFA – set the standards for the remainder of the security field. Relatedly, it asks what this tells us about the power to define security. Drawing upon theoretical perspectives located in International Political Sociology, the sociology of leisure and sport, and publicly available documents and conventions, this conceptual article contributes to our understanding of security in Europe. It argues, first, that the security field in European football is indicative of wider security transformations. Second, that the security field’s regulators configure and dictate the wider field and possess the power to standardize security and the prioritization of threats. This remains important because, to fully understand and analytically capture the security field in European football, one must conceptually account for its standard setting organizations.

Olympic Planning, Profit, and Participation: Towards a Children’s rights-based Approach to Sport mega-event Research?

It is well-established that sport mega-events remain highly relevant sites of enquiry for sociologists of leisure. Whereas sport mega-events are associated with a range of diverse and (un-)intended socio-spatial impacts, they can also have transformative impacts on children and young people. Against this backdrop, this article discusses the inter-relationship between sport mega-events and young people. By focusing predominantly on Olympic planning, participation and profits – which we call the ‘3Ps’ – we argue that researchers may turn towards research methodologies that are underpinned by children’s rights principles and which increasingly voice the perceptions of children and young people on the social impacts of sport mega-events. At the same time, we also reflect on exactly how children’s rights-based methodologies in this context can push the boundaries of the sociology of leisure, events and sport. In this sense, we contend that this article makes an important contribution to the academic work on the nexus between sport mega-events and young people and to our understanding of mega-events’ social costs.

Leisure and human rights: a sociological perspective on the World Leisure Organisation’s Charter for Leisure

ABSTRACT The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) declared leisure time and cultural participation to be human rights, but the idea of leisure rights has not featured significantly in the field of leisure studies, including the sociology of leisure. The recent revision of the World Leisure Organisation’s Charter for Leisure provides an opportunity to reconsider this omission. The article comprises five main sections: an introduction to the place of leisure in the UDHR and related treaties; an overview of the disciplinary contexts within which human rights have traditionally been conceptualized; an outline of the United Nations human rights system in international law and the obligations it places on member states; the WLO Charter for Leisure revision process and how it sought to align the charter more closely with the UN system; and a sociological perspective on the link between human rights and the study of leisure.

Leisure in Middletown: cultural change and social capital in an inter-war American community

ABSTRACT In both America and Great Britain, the social survey became an important tool for the documentation of leisure in the late nineteenth century. To social reformers it revealed inequalities to be addressed; to policy makers it was essential to planning and civic renewal. The Middletown survey was a social study of the city of Muncie, Indiana in 1924. As one of the earliest social surveys to be conducted by social anthropology, it remains a classic text of social science. Social anthropology dealt directly with the everyday life of the organic community and the cultural values and practices of people. It regarded leisure not as superfluous but as a vital field of both private and social life. Undertaken in the new modernity of the inter-war period, the Middletown survey presents a contemporaneous interpretation of the impact of the new technologies of the cinema, radio and automobile on established leisure patterns and of the changing nature and social functions of leisure-based clubs and associations. Anticipating recent interest in leisure and social capital, it reveals historical awareness of the importance of associational leisure activity to community cohesion and offers insights to a nascent sociology of leisure not yet widely recognized in leisure studies.

Концепция urban health в конструировании рекреационных пространств крупных городов: тенденции и перспективы

Objective of the study is to analyze the significance of the “urban health” concept in the construction of recreational space in the metropolis, taking into account the changes caused by the pandemic. The  methodological  basis  of  the  research includes the ideas and provisions of the sociology of the city, the sociology of leisure, the theory of urbanization, including the concept of new urbanism. The methodology of constructivism is used as the basic one; the recreational space of the city is considered as a part of social space, constructed by the interaction of actors (rekreants and recreators). Research results. The article presents new trends in the construction of recreational space in the metropolis, taking into account the changes caused by the pandemic; the key principles of the “urban health” concept are considered; the prospects to include the ideas of the “urban health” concept in the construction of recreational space in the metropolis are outlined.   Prospects of the study.  Special research aimed at the identifying the specific recreational practices in the particular cities and the results of the implementation of the “urban health” projects in Russia and abroad shapes the promising trend within the framework of sociological science. This will result in the identification of successful practices and the possibilities of its implementation in management strategies in other cities.  

Positive Sociology: Supporting Systemic Social Strengths and Solidarity

Sociology has historically focused on negative social interactions and social problems, leaving all but silent positive social interactions, until very recently. This paper discusses concepts about “positive sociology” originally introduced by Robert Stebbins. Positive sociology is a relatively new field within academia that is lending itself to a deeper understanding of positive social interaction while maintaining focus on social strengths. Positive sociology readjusts the focus of the discipline and integrates ideas about positive emotions, volunteerism, charity, altruism, humanitarian action, and positive psychology. Social interactions may be prioritized by sensations of positivity; motivations for positive social action are additionally reviewed. Sociology of emotion is considered for its involvement in the formation of well-being; Sociology of leisure is discussed for its influence in uncoerced volunteer activities. Qualitative and quantitative studies are considered for evidential reference and methodological suggestions. Because this academic field is still young, it was found that additional analysis is required to determine how we can study social strengths. The inspiration for social action in positive interpersonal relations is currently weighed by indistinct variables that demand further research in existing data; a multi-disciplinary method of research is proposed for this cause. If we were to understand how we positively interact with each other, especially when we work together for a greater good, and how these interactions encourage us to feel good in and about the world we live in, it could increase the desire to act selflessly, promote positive social change, as well as support and inform additional theories and research within sociology and other social science disciplines.

Toplumsal Dönüşüm Çerçevesinde Değişen Anlam ve Kullanımlarıyla “Boş Zaman” Sosyolojisi

Bu çalışmanın temel amacı toplumsal dönüşüm çerçevesinde boş zaman olgusunun değişen anlam, temsil ve kullanımlarını incelemek ve boş zaman sosyolojisinin temel konularını ve güncel yaklaşımlarını, üretim ilişkileri, tüketim örüntüleri ve gündelik hayatın diğer bileşenleri bağlamında ortaya koymaktır. Makalede, boş zaman sosyolojisinin odağa aldığı okul ya da iş hayatı gibi resmi ya da kurumsal bağlardan azade zaman diliminin ne ölçüde boş veya serbest olduğu sorgulanacaktır. Bu doğrultuda literatür taraması gerçekleştirilerek, öncelikle tarihsel bir yaklaşımla boş zaman olgusunun çağlar boyu değişen anlamı değerlendirilmeye çalışılacaktır. Ardından, kültürel etkinlik, spor faaliyetleri ve turizm başta olmak üzere “ciddi” ve “ciddi olmayan” türleriyle gündelik hayatın içinde boş zamanın temsili ve kullanımı tartışılacaktır. Son olarak, dünyadan ve ülkemizden örneklerle boş zaman kavramını merkeze alan akademik çalışmalarda değişen yaklaşımlar ortaya konulacaktır. Her şeyin şimdiki zamanın uzamı içine sıkıştırıldığı günümüzde, boş zamanın, derin düşünce ve değer üretiminden uzak, kalıcılığa ulaşmadan sönümlenen kirler ve eylemlerle sarılı etkinlikler dizisine indirgenmiş durumda bulunması çalışmanın temel bulguları arasındadır.

Sociability in International Politics: Golf and ASEAN's Cold War Diplomacy

AbstractSociability or “the play form of association” appears in a range of interactions in world politics sited at banquets, drinking gatherings, golf courses, and even the sauna. Notwithstanding this salience, the form and effects of sociability are poorly understood in International Relations. This article fills this gap. It conceptualizes sociability—its distinct sociological structure; its variations along class, race, and gender; its effects on social interaction—and argues that sociability matters in world politics. Specifically, sociability contributes to identity formation and community maintenance, enables learning, produces social capital, and generates a “backstage” where actors can manage disagreement. I substantiate this argument by examining the sociability fostered from playing golf in the diplomacy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). I explain why golf emerged as a sociable practice in capitalist ASEAN's diplomacy in contrast to socialist and nonaligned circuits of Cold War Southeast Asia; examine the elite and male-homosocial character of this sociability; suggest how it influenced the Associations’ diplomacy; and outline the structural shifts that have led to its post–Cold War decline. This article contributes to the study of sociability in world politics, international practice theory, the political sociology of leisure, and the international politics of Southeast Asia.

Becoming Sociological: A Brief Historical Review of Leisure in the Social Survey 1880–1939

Adopting the social survey as an analytical tool, this paper explores the origins of a sociology of leisure. Modern social understandings of leisure were formed in the expansion of the social sciences in the late nineteenth century in parallel with the growth of systematic and scientifically informed social work. In both Great Britain and the United States of America the survey became a widely adopted method of gathering data to inform social work. Through advances in social work and the settlement movement’s association with universities an embryonic sociology of leisure had emerged by 1914. After the First World War leisure became a field of policy discourse in post-war reconstruction and the subject of large scale surveys in both countries. These surveys give insight to new and changing sociological understandings of leisure which provided the foundations for the formal recognition of leisure as a sociological field in the late twentieth century.

Music in the time-spectrum: routines, spaces and emotional experience

ABSTRACTMusic streaming, structured by an expanding network of social interdependencies (e.g. musicians, sound engineers, computer scientists and distributors) has made it easier to consume music in a wider number of social and private spaces and to a greater degree. This paper examines the emotional experience of contemporary music consumption by drawing from an Eliasian perspective, specifically Elias and Dunning’s sociology of leisure. We explore the relationship between work, spare time and leisure spaces, rather than examining specific spaces in isolation. We argue that music is used to demarcate, transition between, and blur space. Music plays an important role in facilitating the rhythm of routine, helping individuals to adjust to the demands of different spaces (based on varying intensities and immediacies of social pressures) and manage mood. The key characteristics of leisure that Elias and Dunning identify (motility, sociability and mimetic tension) are explored across the spectrum of time and space.

Of the Unit Ideas in the Sociology of Leisure

Robert Nisbet, in The Sociological Tradition (1966), used the concept of unit-ideas in analyzing the sociological thought of the past and present. Unit-ideas are focal social concerns that generated and continue to invite conflicting interpretations, giving sociological thought its continuity and coherence. As examples of unit-ideas in the 19th century sociology, Nisbet listed alienation, the role of the community, relationship between the sacred and the secular. Several criteria need to be met, according to Nisbet, to qualify as unit-ideas. These ideas must have generality, be relevant to the present and the past, and be discernable in the works of the towering minds of an age. As well, unit-ideas must be specific for the given area of study and combine insight with observation (p. 5). In this article, an attempt will be made to apply Nisbet’s notion of unit-ideas to the historical study of leisure and labor, the two concepts that, in Bennett Berger’s words, “have sociological meaning only vis-à-vis each other.” (p. 28)Analysis of issues dominating the study of leisure and labor shows that discussion involving these phenomena centered historically upon several key and controversial issues such as: (1) the role of leisure and labor in forming human identity; (2) leisure and labor as stimuli of social change; (3) leisure’s and play’s role as sources of social stability; (4) leisure’s impact on the deepening or toning down of social inequalities; (5) division of labor and its alienating effects on leisure (spillover or compensation?); (6) future trends in the allocation of leisure time (will we live in a ‘society of leisure’ or of the ‘harried leisure class”?), and (7) leisure’s and labor’s contribution to subjective well-being (swb). While most of these issues fall predominantly into the domain of sociological inquiry, the interest in the relationship between leisure and swb is shared by sociology and social psychology.The first three unit-ideas (leisure as a source of human identity, social stability and a stimulus of change), have been examined in the literature mostly from the historical and anthropological perspectives. The conflicting views about the alienating effects of labor, the stratification implications of leisure, the direction of leisure trends, and the well-being corelates of leisure have been subject of conceptual discourse as well as empirical examination.My motivation for examining work-leisure relationships from the unit-ideas perspective is two-fold. I intend to show that these relationships are multifaceted and change with historical circumstances. I will refrain from the role of an arbiter, while discussing controversies surrounding the unit-ideas of leisure,’ and will leave their overall assessment to the concluding part of the article, showing there how these ideas reflect the “l’esprit du temps” (Zeitgeist), as well as ideological positioning of individual authors within it. In the concluding part, I will also address my second concern - the ‘partisan” or ‘lobbying’ position with regard to leisure often taken by leisure researchers. Leisure, to me, is a formidable challenge, but not necessarily a universal cure. The dividing line of the pros and the cons does not run between leisure and labor but within them. This is what this article will try to demonstrate.

Why Has the Critique of the Leisure Class Run out of Steam? Matters of Fact and Matters of Concern

The article analyzes the conceptual and historical prerequisites for the transition from the classical theory of leisure to modern leisure studies. Its central question is what “matters of fact” and “matters of concern” have had the greatest impact on the formation of the new research agenda. The first part of the article reconstructs Veblen’s conceptualization of the leisure class, which is associated with extensive free time, specific types of leisure, demonstrative consumption of the output from productive work, and the elevated socio-economic status that a particular group attains by following the conventions of a “prestigious” lifestyle. It is argued that the focus on stable, reproducible patterns of behavior in the upper class neglected the distinction between newer leisure practices, as well as the stratified diffusion of leisure time. The author describes three exogenous factors that have undercut the traditional understanding of leisure in the social sciences: the transformation of the temporal structure of work and leisure as a result of the broad penetration of digital technologies; the blurring of the boundaries between workspaces and recreational areas; and the transformation of the resources for economic interactions and of the system for conversion to various types of capital in the labor market. Changes in the basic criteria for a leisure lifestyle have exposed problems with Veblen’s intuitions and have led to the emergence of new disciplinary coalitions. In conclusion, the article deals with the problem of how to describe the modern leisure class. This is a question of whether the emergence of alternative leisure practices provides a sufficient basis for the identification of new leisure groups and of what would constitute a necessary condition for revamping the sociology of leisure.

The Digital Nomad Lifestyle: (Remote) Work/Leisure Balance, Privilege, and Constructed Community

This paper overviews key concepts about the digital nomad lifestyle, which is defined as the ability for individuals to work remotely from their laptop and use their freedom from an office to travel the world. This concept has found a lifestyle movement that sells itself via personal blogs, Instagram feeds, in-person conferences, news features, and numerous e-books. Based on interviews with thirty-eight self-described nomads, this paper overviews the digital nomad lifestyle around the themes of privilege, inequality, leisure, work, and community. Stebbins’ (International Journal of the Sociology of Leisure, 1, 43–53, 2018) concept of serious leisure provides one theoretical perspective, in addition to other sociological theories of leisure, work, and community.

The Two Rival Concepts of Devotional Leisure: Towards an Understanding of Twenty-First Century Human Creativity and the Possibility of Freedom

The starting point of this article is that the ultimate objective of sociology so far as the study of leisure is concerned should be with understanding the ways in which twenty-first century modern men and women attempt to reconcile the demands of individuality and community (aka freedom and security) by focusing on what they choose to do when they can do anything at all. The first introductory part sets up the rest of the article by offering a brief critique of the sociology of leisure which operates with the somewhat startling assertion that in modern societies leisure is largely consumerist in orientation and that as a result freedom is a fiction. Counteracting this assertion with a startling one of its own it is subsequently argued that the twentieth century interregnum saw modernity radically revise its modernity which led to a transformation in the power of human agency and emergence of the insistent voice ‘I too am in individual’. Taking as its starting point Peter Sloterdijk’s reading of Nietzsche’s imperative to ‘Become who you are’ articulated passionately in his book You must change your life (Sloterdijk 2013), the second part of the article argues that in the twenty-first century terms like authentic leisure and consumerist leisure, work and leisure are not antithetical to one another, and there is a radical need to rethink how people give meaning and order to their lives though their leisure pursuits. Here the article explores the relationship between Sloterdijk’s concept of anthropotechnics, the art of living and leisure. The next part of the article fleshes out the theory of devotional leisure which is one part of a more embracing project set out in the book Re-imagining leisure studies (Blackshaw 2017). Here the article explores two contrasting ways of understanding devotional leisure practice, namely ‘devotional leisure’ and ‘performative leisure’ by drawing respectively on the examples of surfing and car cruising. The article concludes with an attempt to reconcile these two seemingly contradictory forms of devotional leisure practice with a discussion of urban exploration, speculating that their uniqueness to one another is never absolute, and the more you perceive their particularity, the more you understand their double nature, as simultaneously aspects of a third endeavour.

A People’s History of Leisure Studies: Old Knowledge, New Knowledge and The Philadelphia Negro as a Foundational Text

There is a great realization that a professor teaching an introductory or philosophical foundations course in the field of leisure studies comes to, if that professor may not be from the dominant culture of most Western societies. This realization is as stark as their numerical presence in their respective departments. Why are the philosophical foundations of the field devoid of the experiences, voices, and perspectives populations of color, or even more broadly, the populations of the global majority? And, why is there an absence of historical discussions on the field’s role in perpetrating or condoning activities that hindered or constrained populations of color full access, enjoyment, and articulation of leisure? As we move forward in the field more globally, thinking and discussing the new and progressive ways that we can conceive the sociology of leisure, it is imperative that we rethink our philosophical foundations in reconciliation of the potential harm it may have caused (and may continue to harm) and the actual good it can invoke in assisting the myriad of scholars who are pushing more progressive efforts for a critical leisure paradigm (Spracklen, Lashua, Sharpe and Swain, 2017). The objectives of this manuscript are: 1) to briefly categorize the research in the field on Race and ethnicity; 2) to outline the key canonical texts of the field; 3) to consider and reconceptualize a racially and ethnically inclusive foundation for the field utilizing The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study as an example; and, 4) to identify some of the specific areas that this change and inclusion would impact or realign the field’s history.

The Sociology of Leisure: an Estranged Child of Mainstream Sociology

Starting with Veblen the rocky career of the sociology of leisure is traced up to the present. The field grows slowly during the first half of the twentieth century in North America and Britain and then from approximately 1950 to 1970 it enjoys a spurt of research. After that mainstream sociology in various ways abandons its progeny referred to here as subdisciplinary sociology of leisure. Fortunately, interdisciplinary sociology of leisure comes alive and continues to develop a vibrant, research-based conceptual foundation anchored in new ideas bubbling up from the interdisciplinary side and trickling down from the disciplinary mainstream. Despite this ferment the sociological mainstream remains seriously out of touch with what is happening in the sociological part of interdisciplinary leisure studies. This is most unfortunate. Leisure activities are universal and widely sought after. They are thus positive, a quality of social life to which mainstream sociology, being problem-centered, has given short shrift.

Les personnes handicapées ont-elles droit au loisir? L’exemple du cirque contemporain français

Disabled people are currently considered as fully fledged citizens. Their social participation – rather than rehabilitation – should be a priority of social and legislative progress. While a large number of disabled people cannot participate in primary obligations constituted by work and education, the leisure field, though not necessarily cost-effective or performative, could be a privileged area of social participation for these people. We are interested in the world of the contemporary circus, which maintains special links with disability and madness, and which welcomes many disabled people in circus schools. The study of multiple sources, and the in-depth case study of an association, enable us to highlight the ways in which the practice of being in a circus is diverted from its artistic purpose and invested in educational and therapeutic goals. This leads disabled people to pursue their perpetual re-education and rehabilitation in the contemporary circus. To reflect on these contradictions, and examine disabled people’s right to leisure, it seems important to support the development of a leisure sociology that is interested in all people, regardless of their capacities.

HEPA Promotion in the Environment of Academic Scientists - Preliminary Research

Abstract The theoretical framework for this research is the sociology of leisure and the sociology of health. Because sedentary behaviour (of employees) is a relevant new research area with important health risks, we decided to focus our attention on this subject. Moreover, sedentary behaviour in the workplace seems to be an important topic for the future. The general aim of the research is to provide a platform for exchange on effective approaches for promoting health-enhancing physical activity among workers, to learn from experiences in different European countries and to promote the most effective approaches across Europe. Two methods of qualitative research were used. The first was the method of expert judges. By way of direct interview, the statements of nine persons were collected, all of whom were recognised as competent judges. The second method was the analysis of the content of the literature (quality method). Using the computer program Atlas.ti, the respondents and their answers were examined. Most of the indications (89%) concerned responses indicating physical activity. In general, the experts are quite physically active and keep a healthy (in their opinion) diet. They have both knowledge and appropriate skills in physical education. They point to the growing interest of younger academics in health and fitness, which may be associated with trends in popular culture, such as a sporty lifestyle, the cult of the body, various healthy diets and supplements, etc., that are becoming the universal fashion. The aim of this work was to provide a platform for exchange on effective approaches to the promotion of health-enhancing physical activity among workers, to learn from experience in different European countries and to promote the most effective approaches across the region. Because the sedentary behaviour of employees is a relevant new research area with important health risks, we decided to focus our attention on this subject.

Imagining the scene and the memory of the F-Club: Talking about lost punk and postpunk spaces in Leeds

Abstract The F-Club in Leeds, UK, was a punk and post-punk night club from the 1970s to the 1980s. Leeds as a city has a reputation for alternative music scenes, and the F-Club is part of the history recalled by musicians and fans locally. In this article, we interview people who publicly identified with going to the F-Club back in their youth, to map connections as well as memories, identity-work and myth-making. We are interested in leisure spaces and leisure lives, as well as cultural spaces and identity-work. We explore the history of the F-Club, its place in wider networks, and the memories of it by those who attended it. We explore the ways in which the F-Club is remembered and talked about by self-declared members of the scenes around the club. Our interest is not so much in mapping and understanding the identity-work and the community of the F-Club as it actually happened, but in how our respondents construct these things now from their own memories. This article also contributes to methodological and theoretical debates about network analysis against ethnography in the sociology of music, and defends the latter as a way to construct an emerging public sociology of leisure.

Tourist, ecological and recreational behaviours in leisure time – contribution to the sociology of leisure

Tourist, ecological and recreational behaviours in leisure time – contribution to the sociology of leisure