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Histories of Leisure

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Histories of Leisure
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Rudy Koshar
SeriesLeisure, Consumption and Culture
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:352
Dimensions(mm): Height 234,Width 156
ISBN/Barcode 9781859735251
ClassificationsDewey:306.4812094
Audience
General
Illustrations 40 b&w illustrations, bibliography, index

Publishing Details

Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint Berg Publishers
Publication Date 1 April 2002
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

In the wake of the American and French revolutions, European culture saw the evolution of a new 'leisure regime' never previously enjoyed. Now we speak of modern leisure societies, but the history of leisure, its experiences and expectations, its scope and variability, still remains largely a matter of conjecture. One message that has emerged from a multiplicity of disciplines is that research on leisure and consumption opens up a hitherto untapped mine of information on the broader issues of politics, society, culture and economics. How have leisure regimes in Europe evolved since the eighteenth century? Why has leisure culture crystallized around particular practices, sites and objects? Above all, what sorts of connections and meanings have been inscribed in leisure practices, and how might these be compared across time and space? This book is the first to provide an historical overview of modern leisure in a wide range of manifestations: travel, entertainment, sports, fashion, 'taste' and much more. It will be essential reading for anyone wishing to know more about European history and culture or simply how people spent their free time before the age of television and the internet.

Author Biography

Rudy Koshar DAAD Professor of German and European Studies,University of Wisconsin at Madison

Reviews

'[Histories of Leisure] brings a much-needed European perspective to the history of leisure, a subject which has previously tended to be looked at from the perspective of individual national experiences ... It adds substantially to the currently fashionable study of cultures of consumption.' Economic History Review 'Framed as these chapters are within the book's wider remit of an examination of the cultures of consumption, they offer the perfect interaction between the history of sport and its partner sub-discipline, the history of leisure. Journal of Contemporary History 'Koshar's introductory essay presents an excellent overview on approaches to and definition of leisure and its practices and rituals. Uniformly well written with fresh insights into gender, culture and the political and social life of modern Europe.' Choice