FOCUS ON SOCIOLOGY OF LEISURE: FROM THEORY TO DAILY LIFE
FOCUS ON SOCIOLOGY OF LEISURE: FROM THEORY TO DAILY LIFE

Summary/Abstract: This study aims to underline the importance of continuing sociological research into leisure practices, in order to better understand social life. I start by explaining the concept of leisure, after which I go over the main approaches and established sociological theories dealing with the topic of leisure. The text aims to highlight the importance of maintaining leisure sociology as a field of study. In order to have a complete and complex image of societies, sociological studies cannot neglect leisure, which is an integral part of the daily life of every individual. Leisure should not be seen merely as a time free from obligations and worries, but instead must be understood in the context of the meanings that individuals in contemporary societies attribute to it. Recent analyses of leisure practices underscore the necessity of involving individuals in activities to which they ascribe meanings and purposes, beyond being purely hedonistic. In order to illustrate the change we are currently experiencing in terms of the perspective we have of leisure, the last part of the text presents the results of a qualitative sociological research, undertaken a few months prior. As long as sociological analyses continue to neglect leisure practices, our understanding of power dynamics will be an incomplete one.

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