Pastimes: The Context of Contemporary Leisure

by Ruth V. Russell

An introductory text that gathers together state of the art information in leisure science and practice, reflecting a wide range of literature from the disciplines of sociology. psychology. economics. political science, and anthropology. More than a text that teaches the foundational meanings and roles of leisure. Pastimes is also a point of view. This text presents leisure as a human phenomenon that is individual and collective, vital for survival, frivolous, historical, contemporary, good, and bad. Pastimes, 3rd Edition continues with its contemporary introduction to leisure, while emphasizing new concepts. This edition contains two new chapters, and includes more illustrations of concepts through field-based case studies, research studies, biographical features, definitions, and photographs. Material is more personally relevant with exploratory activities and applications to professional practice.

414 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1996

Reviews

[Lana *Best left alone with books and snacks* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read this for work and wow did I learn stuff. Now I wish I paid attention in my sociology class. Highly recommend this for anyone who's interested in why we spend our time the way we do.

[Brian Cham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pastimes is a book covering just about everything that can p0ssibly be documented about leisure and pastimes. It's an all-encompassing book aiming to act as a comprehensive textbook, but written with the leisurely writing style (pardon the pun) of a more accessible non-fiction book for everyday audiences. Starting with some basic definitions and psychological theories of what "leisure" even is and why people do it, it sends the reader through a tour throughout different activities, settings and time periods. For every section, the authors explain a lot of examples as well as the theoretical bases behind analysing the benefits and appeals, but can sometimes feel like it's just going through some lists at times.