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How Innocent is our Scientific Vocabulary? Rethinking Recent Sociological Conceptualizations of Complex Leisure

University of Oslo, Norway, lise.kjolsrod{at}sosiologi.uio.no

More than ever, social scientists have reason to question the assumption that work is the human activity of value and leisure is little more than a respite from work; a way to consume its fruits and prepare for more work. This article compares four conceptualizations of the demanding activities people choose for themselves in their spare time. Each one is based on relatively recent empirical studies and presented to social science with a distinct term: `serious leisure', `specialized play', `edgework', and `consumption within a fantasy enclave'. Any conceptual representation allows certain interpretations of social phenomena and blocks others. In this case, vastly different pictures emerge, depending on the conception chosen. Thus, the major finding of the article is that sociology urgently needs to assess its vocabulary in order to understand how the modern predicament affects men and women in their freest moments.

Key Words: conceptual representations • consumption • edgework • serious leisure • specialized play

Sociology, Vol. 43, No. 2, 371-387 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0038038508101171


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