Decentering Leisure
TALS 2024 Research and Teaching Conference
Leisure studies is like an old clock that stops ticking from time to time and needs to be shaken to get it working once again, and if that does not do the trick, opened up and disassembled, its gears, springs, sprockets and levers cleaned, oiled, and its ‘movement’–the clock’s condition embodied in its ‘tick-tock’ sound–made to run in an even balanced beat. Unlike clock-menders, scholars overhaul subject fields by leaving parts behind that after decades of use have become unnecessary to their workings, replacing these with new ones. They cannot afford to be sentimental when it comes to replacing old parts; if getting the clock back ‘inbeat’ is the objective, then it is best to replace what no longer works. This gives us the impression that things in our subject field change while ostensibly remaining the same–even if this is not really the case. (Blackshaw, 2017a, p. 240)
This theme of this year’s conference is one that considers leisure not as a unified field of study, an agreed upon ideal or concept, or a ‘bounded category of practice and experience’ (Rojek, 1995, p. 146). It seeks to continue the shift away from leisure by revisiting Rojek’s (1995) critical deconstruction of leisure studies and embracing calls for alternative or reimagined approaches to the study of leisure (e.g., Blackshaw, 2017b; Pernecky, 2019). Specifically, we are looking for research that pushes the boundaries of new ways of knowing and understanding leisure so that “we come to see what it is that is important about leisure in the contemporary world” (Blackshaw, 2017a, p. 240).
Additionally, while this year’s theme recognizes epistemological and ontological paradigmatic differences of leisure scholarship, the notion of decentering leisure also goes further to position the social and ecological challenges that intersect with leisure, as the central focus of inquiry. Leisure, then, is conceived as a mechanism, a sociological/psychological phenomenon, an intervention, an opportunity, and/or an aggravator for other ideas or issues at hand. The question defining the 2024 conference is not ‘what is the relevance of our field’, but ‘what is the relevance of our teaching and research’? Or more principally, ‘Why did the field come into being, and what justifies its continued presence today?’
Subthemes for teaching sessions.
Teaching submissions focus on contemporary issues facing instructors in the classroom as well as issues facing all faculty working within the academy. Submissions should reflect issues of utility or importance for a range of educators in our field, from new, junior faculty to the most experienced scholars. Specifically, we welcome submissions that respond to one of the following sub-themes
Connecting leisure classrooms to social and ecological challenges
Interdisciplinary connections to leisure courses
Well-being of students and faculty
Student learning outcomes (e.g., critical thinking, critical consciousness)
Student ‘Experience’ (i.e., development of experience design/ management offices to enhance student experience)
Understanding ‘who’ our students are
Technology and virtual learning
Diversity, equity, and inclusion in classes, curricula, and/or campuses
Innovation in teaching and learning
Leisure education within the university
Student loan debt and economic pressure within higher education
Other teaching strategies, pedagogies, and methods are always welcomed
Subthemes for research sessions.
Bad leisure studies is transparently ideological; it has a bad habit of using a familiar narrative to make obvious arguments. Good leisure studies, on the other hand, is based on deep learning. (Blackshaw, 2017, p. 242)
Research submissions should focus on the complex challenges defining our time that intersect with leisure in some way. We welcome submissions that respond to this prompt, embracing the messiness of the challenges through novel theoretical, methodological, or counterintuitive approaches – research that doesn’t espouse a ‘business as usual’ or ‘common sense’ approach to its focus or design. Topics may fall into one of the following sub-themes:
The Fray. Building off the joint CFP of Leisure Sciences and Leisure/Loisir, ‘The Fraying of Society’, this theme focuses on leisure that is perceived to be on the fray or fringe of society. Specifically considering forms of leisure behavior/activity that may create disruption while being driven by identities, beliefs, and/or illiberal ideologies.
Coping in Uncertain Times: Individuals and communities have adapted their leisure behaviors and practices in response to critical events and changing circumstances. Innovative approaches, strategies, and technologies that enable the continuation or evolution of leisure pursuits, even in challenging times, need to be understood.
Resistance Movements: The role of leisure in social and political movements. Leisure spaces, events, and/or activities as sites for protest, dissent, and mobilization (e.g., leisure-based activism, the role of arts and culture in resistance movements, and the use of leisure practices to challenge oppressive systems). Exploration of alternative and resistance-oriented leisure practices that challenge dominant power structures.
Individual and Community Resilience: Leisure practices and experiences can contribute to individual and community resilience in the face of adversity, instability, and change. This includes leisure as an individual-level coping mechanism for stress, trauma, poverty, and/or personal challenges, or as a space for collective respite, community-building, and healing.
Mental Health, and Well-being: Leisure as a tool for promoting mental health and well-being, particularly in times of uncertainty and stress. Focusing on the therapeutic benefits of leisure activities, the importance of self-care for mental health maintenance (through leisure), and the potential of leisure interventions in supporting mental well-being.
Belonging and Connectivity: Leisure as a tool for social connections and community cohesion. Explores the role of leisure in fostering social support networks, building social capital, and promoting social inclusion. Digital leisure experiences and virtual communities as spaces for connection, belonging, and identity development. Opportunities and challenges of leisure engagement on digital platforms, the impact of virtual leisure on social interactions and well-being, and the potential for digital technologies to enhance/detract from leisure.
The Anthropocene: Intersection of leisure, climate, and environmental sustainability continues. Leisure practices that challenge consumerism, promote simplicity, and advocate for alternative visions of well-being and sustainability (e.g., DIY culture, simplicity movements, and community-based leisure initiatives that prioritize shared experiences over material consumption); impacts of leisure behavior on climate change/environment.
Neoliberalism, and Commercialization: The impact of neoliberal ideologies and commercialization on leisure experiences and spaces. How the capitalism/ market forces shape leisure practices, commodify leisure experiences, and exacerbate social inequalities. Privatization of public spaces, the influence of consumer culture/ commodity fetishism on leisure behaviors. Leisure that resists commodification, consumerism, and capitalist values (e.g., grassroots movements, collective organizing, and leisure activities that promote social and environmental justice, dispossession, decolonization, and anti-oppression frameworks).
Equity and Justice: Equitable leisure and travel, just leisure, and justice tourism; constraints to leisure participation, exploitation, and disparities in access to leisure resources and opportunities, and inclusive leisure spaces/environments that support diverse populations. Questions of access to resources, services, and spaces.
Methodological and Theoretical Advancements. Looking across the social sciences, exploration into new ways of knowing, methods for uncovering. Non-Eurocentric ways of knowing (see the World Leisure Journal call for commentaries on ‘Global South Leisure Perspectives'), indigenous knowledge; digital research and machine learning/ big data; AI within research. Anti-leisure, decentered leisure, and/or leisure studies re-imagined.
The subthemes presented above are not exclusive and meant to stimulate ideas for submission that would contribute the larger discussion of decentering leisure.
References
Blackshaw, T. (2017a). Decentring leisure: rethinking leisure theory. Annals of Leisure Research, 20(2), 240-242. doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2016.1254798
Blackshaw, T. (2017b). Re-imagining leisure studies. New York, NY: Routledge.
Pernecky, T. (2022). The end of (objective) leisure. Leisure Sciences, 44(6), 733-749.
Rojek, C. (1995). Decentring leisure: Rethinking leisure theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.