Serious Leisure

Past, Present, and Possibilities

Bibliographic Data

ID23624543
AuthorsKaren Gallant (0000-0002-5127-6096, Dalhousie University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Pages437-451
Publication date2017-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Palgrave Handbook of Leisure Theory (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan UK (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/978-1-137-56479-5_25
OpenAlexW2606640805
ISBN9781137564795
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited44

This chapter describes the development, use, and potential of serious leisure—the concept developed by sociologist Bob Stebbins to describe the systematic pursuit of hobbyist, amateur, and volunteer activities characterised as unique in both the effort required and the benefits that follow. This chapter explores critiques of serious leisure, such as the lack of attention to its stratified nature and its focus on individual rather than community or collective outcomes. Further, the qualities and types of serious leisure are described as they are understood today, including the place of serious pursuits (serious leisure and devotee work) alongside casual and project-based leisure in what Stebbins refers to as the “serious leisure perspective”. Overall, this chapter both describes and critiques the evolution of serious leisure as a concept and a theory and explores its potential as a framework for studying and understanding leisure in the twenty-first century.

Amateur · Casual · Epistemology · Leisure studies · Perspective (graphical) · Political science · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of leisure · Tourism · Adventure Sports and Sensation Seeking · Computer Science · Law · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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