Re-Imagining Leisure Studies Routledge Critical Leisure Studies Series

In this provocative new book, Tony Blackshaw argues that Leisure Studies is in a quiet but deep state of crisis. The twenty-first century has brought profound change to all aspects of society, including a plurality of new leisure worlds, and traditional concepts of Leisure Studies fail to capture this richness. This book aims to re-invigorate Leisure Studies by revealing and unpacking these leisure worlds, thereby changing the way we think about leisure and the way we do Leisure Studies.

Both trivial and serious in its implications, it is precisely this paradox that makes leisure such a fascinating subject of study. Re-Imagining Leisure Studies presents a new and radical set of methodological rules for studying leisure trends and cultures in contemporary society. It discusses the critical issues that underpin recent developments in leisure theory and explores the key themes of social class, community, politics, freedom and globalization.

Marking a turning point in the reception and understanding of Leisure Studies, this book is vital reading for all students and scholars with a social scientific interest in leisure.

Part I: Some Considerations of MethodPart II: Recovering the Spiritual Foundations of Twenty-First Century LeisurePart III: Towards an Understanding of Devotional Leisure

Tony Blackshaw is a leisure scholar and researcher of international standing who teaches at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. He has published works on a broad range of themes in leisure studies which include the following: Leisure Life: Myth, Masculinity and Modernity (2003), New Perspectives on Sport and ‘Deviance’: Consumption, Performativity and Social Control (with Tim Crabbe) (2004), The Sage Dictionary of Leisure Studies (with Garry Crawford) (2009), Leisure (2010) in Routledge’s Key Ideas series and The Routledge Handbook of Leisure Studies (2013)