Summary
Contents
`This book confirms David Harris' status as a leading theorist in contemporary culture and leisure in the UK. He offers a distinctive, coherent and authoritative guide to the major concepts and debates that should engage leisure scholars and scholarship' - Dr Peter Bramham, Senior Lecturer in Leisure Studies, Leeds Metropolitan UniversityWritten with the needs of today's student in mind, the SAGE Key Concepts series provides accessible, authoritative and reliable coverage of the essential issues in a range of disciplines. Written in each case by experienced and respected experts in the subject area, the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages understanding without sacrificing the level of detail and critical evaluation essential to convey the complexity of the issues.Key Concepts in Leisure Studies:• Provides a student-friendly guide to the key debates in leisure studies• Reflects recent developments in the field, encompassing related work in media studies, cultural studies, sports studies and sociology • Cross-references each 1500 word exposition to other concepts in the field• Offers definitions, section outlines and further reading guidance for independent learning• Is supported by the author's website http:/www.arasite.org/keyconc.html• Is essential reading for undergraduates and NVQ students in leisure studies.
Identities
Identities
An identity is a summary statement about who we are, a symbolic way to display important information about ourselves in an abbreviated manner – our tastes and choices in leisure (in this case) and the groups to which we belong. The term appears in the plural to accommodate the debate about how stable and fixed our identities are in modernity, whether we have just one main one, how many we can successfully develop, and how easily we can maintain them.
Section Outline:The move from ‘master’ identities to more flexible options. Queer theory and sexual identities. Youth subcultures. Identity, belonging, the role of socially approved knowledge and acceptance. Consumerism, leisure and identity. Modernity: choice and novelty, or instability, narcissism and disillusion?
In the sociological work that informs ...
