Leisure as Source of Knowledge, Social Resilience and Public Commitment: Specialized Play

184 Pages·2019·1.875 MB·English

by  Lise Kjølsrød

Leisure as LEISURE
STUDIES
Source of IN A
GLOBAL
Knowledge,
ERA
Social Resilience
& Public
Commitment
Specialized Play
LISE KJØLSRØD
Leisure Studies in a Global Era
Series Editors
Karl Spracklen
Leeds Beckett University
Leeds, UK
Karen Fox
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB, Canada
In this book series, we defend leisure as a meaningful, theoretical, fram-
ing concept; and critical studies of leisure as a worthwhile intellectual and
pedagogical activity. This is what makes this book series distinctive: we
want to enhance the discipline of leisure studies and open it up to a richer
range of ideas; and, conversely, we want sociology, cultural geographies
and other social sciences and humanities to open up to engaging with
critical and rigorous arguments from leisure studies. Getting beyond con-
cerns about the grand project of leisure, we will use the series to demon-
strate that leisure theory is central to understanding wider debates about
identity, postmodernity and globalisation in contemporary societies
across the world. The series combines the search for local, qualitatively
rich accounts of everyday leisure with the international reach of debates
in politics, leisure and social and cultural theory. In doing this, we will
show that critical studies of leisure can and should continue to play a
central role in understanding society. The scope will be global, striving to
be truly international and truly diverse in the range of authors and topics.
Editorial Board: John Connell, Professor of Geography, University of
Sydney, USA; Yoshitaka Mori, Associate Professor, Tokyo University of
the Arts, Japan; Smitha Radhakrishnan, Assistant Professor, Wellesley
College, USA; Diane M. Samdahl, Professor of Recreation and Leisure
Studies, University of Georgia, USA; Chiung-Tzu Lucetta Tsai, Associate
Professor, National Taipei University, Taiwan; Walter van Beek, Professor
of Anthropology and Religion, Tilburg University, The Netherlands;
Sharon D. Welch, Professor of Religion and Society, Meadville Theological
School, Chicago, USA; Leslie Witz, Professor of History, University of
the Western Cape, South Africa.
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14823
Lise Kjølsrød
Leisure as Source of
Knowledge, Social
Resilience and Public
Commitment
Specialized Play
Lise Kjølsrød
Department of Sociology and Human Geography
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway
Leisure Studies in a Global Era
ISBN 978-1-137-46286-2 ISBN 978-1-137-46287-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46287-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018950520
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2019
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For Elin, Espen and Erle
Preface
Today, play is highly differentiated. Among its many social forms is a set
of complex and often long-lasting practical activities. Varieties of collect-
ing, mountain climbing, birdwatching, long-term ocean sailing, live role-
playing, backpacking, and numerous other game-like endeavors are part
of the cultural repertoires of modern societies. Over time, each activity
gives rise to distinct social worlds among enthusiasts with extensions
across national and international boundaries. This book gives a bottom-
up contribution to contemporary cultural analyses and political theory
by showing how citizens can achieve much for themselves and for society
by participating. What they do in play essentially assists democratic
efficacy.
Every research effort has its story of origin. Engrossment in an appar-
ently esoteric activity can be hard to comprehend, even for the closest. I
used to be painfully aware of not understanding my ex-husband’s involve-
ment in a world of objects. Why such passion? Why take on the consider-
able extra efforts in an already hectic life? Why accumulate more than
space allows? In a pensive and somewhat angry moment, I scribbled these
and other comments on an index card and put it among other cards in
my beautiful wooden box. Not fieldwork in any strict sense but I did pay
attention to what he was doing for nearly three decades, until, grateful for
university freedom and generosity, I could in fact study collecting and
vii
viii Preface
other related activities. The answers I finally arrived at did not reflect my
initial animosity.
Play is an expressive mode with roots beyond humanity. In human
societies, the type of play this book addresses resembles art by relying on
some culturally conceived form, adapted to the capacities of imagination
and the energies of emotion. Like art forms, individuals and groups can
make use of play forms for their own purposes. These game-like activities
are for fun and not intended to change mind-sets or influence lives. Yet,
the tradition from Simmel, via Mead, to Goffman and beyond, recog-
nizes their potential as catalysts of internal and external dialogue. Thus,
audiences are normally involved, real, and virtual, and there can be prac-
tical experimentation and mental simulation. Acts of expression and
interpretation always hinge on the culture where the gaming takes place.
The medium itself emerges on the collective level; its rules, procedures,
symbols, outcomes, and aesthetics evolve in relation to the tastes and
ideologies of the times.
There is a long-standing worry in academia that people are fleeing
from social and political responsibility into secluded spheres of esoteric
diversion. Moreover, the alleged ascendancy of the narcissistic personality
fits hand-in-glove with notions of dominant consumerism. Other force-
ful beliefs highlight how commercial, professional, and bureaucratic
forces transform the world into a locus of instrumentality, leaving little
admiration for behaviors of ambiguous utility. By adopting this cluster of
ideas, contemporary men and women may appear less devoted, inven-
tive, and resourceful in their individual and collective lives than they
actually are. Could it be that these and related conceptions have made
social science less sensitive to peoples’ deeper concerns and more subtle
solutions, and thereby misguided our assessment of the human condition
in late modernity?
The aim of this book is to demonstrate that there are other interpreta-
tions with no less credibility. The case illustrations suggest that special-
ized play conveys not only opportunity to shape supportive images of
real-world concerns in play but also educates people by bringing surpris-
ing amounts of knowledge, cooperative and other skills, and also value
commitments. Thus, participants in play develop significant cognitive,
social, and political resources.
Prefac e ix
Civic associations—also those that are not explicitly political—are
generally considered essential to democracy because they build social
capital and enhance trust, and when such qualities become part of the
political system, they help to underpin integrative policies. I argue that
players’ activities, their social worlds, and associations constitute an alter-
native political channel in itself. By conveying information, moral orien-
tation, symbols, and networks, playgroups are in a sense pre-mobilized
for political activity and even activism, and can, if called upon, act much
like social movements. Thus, more widespread engrossment in leisure
does not necessarily imply an escape from the harsher outside realities.
Quite the contrary, it is likely to improve the distribution of the cogni-
tive, cultural, and political resources citizens use to fashion their own
responses to adversity and influence society in numerous smaller and
sometimes larger ways.
Chapters 1 and 2 introduce the perspective and detail the specifics of
entering and staying involved. Chapter 3 compares the notion of special-
ized play with related conceptions, noting that choice of scientific con-
ception makes a difference to our understanding of what modern men
and women are capable of doing in their freest moments. Chapter 4
shows the significance of cross-domain mapping between play and life
and discusses the character and consequences of metaphoric communica-
tion in play. Chapter 5 investigates how the play medium is occasionally
turned into a political instrument, and shows how the public voices of
playgroups are not essentially different from those of social movements.
The two last chapters give in-depth presentations of specific activities,
individual art collectors and well-organized birdwatchers. Chapter 6
shows how careers in leisure emerge; how players read themselves into
what they do and become fascinated. Chapter 7 emphasizes how an
apparently humble activity can develop over time and acquire influence.
Oslo, Norway Lise Kjølsrød
Acknowledgments
The series editor Karl Spracklen encouraged the shaping of this material
into the format of a book, for which I am extremely grateful. I am heavily
indebted to Andrew Abbott for his valuable contribution to what later
turned out to be the earliest sketch of Chap. 2. During more seminars than
I care to remember, my wonderful colleagues in the Department of
Sociology and Human Geography at the University of Oslo have energized
the project through discussions of various ideas and drafts. Bjørn Schiermer
deserves deep respect and gratitude; with the greatest insight and tact, he
took the trouble to read and comment on the final manuscript. A belated
word of appreciation is due to Vilhelm Aubert (1922–1988) whose teach-
ing and essays in The Hidden Society made me and other students under-
stand the great sociological value of simply keeping our eyes and ears open.
Without Per-Olaf Ødegaard’s curiosity and practical support, the enjoy-
ment of writing had certainly not been the same.
Gratitude also goes to authors and publishers who allowed me to quote
excerpts from the following publications: Careers and Creativity by
Harrison White, San Francisco, Oxford: Westview Press, copyright © by
Taylor and Francis Group; Deep Play by Paul Pritchard, copyright ©
1997 by Paul Pritchard; Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville,
New York: Vintage Books, copyright © by Penguin Random House;
Homo Ludens by Johan Huizinga, Boston: The Beacon Press, copyright ©
1950 by Roy Publishers; Illuminations by Walter Benjamin, New York:
xi