The sociology of leisure (1992)

In the Twentieth Century, leisure has emerged as a critical issue in people’s lives. Increased material standards of living, better health, increased levels of education, a declining percentage of life devoted to work, and greater personal freedom have provided, for many, a vastly increased potential for leisure. The use of free time in voluntary and pleasurable ways is an expected, and often realized, part of life in postindustrial societies. Sociology encompasses at least three major theoretical perspectives with quite different assumptions about the nature of society. Functional theory sees society as an integrated system of institutions that usually change in an evolutional way. Critical theory focuses on the divisions of a society composed of segments with conflicting interests that clash to create change. Symbolic interaction theory begins with the interpreting social actor and the constructed symbol system that is learned, fragile, and yet continually renewed. This book incorporated all three perspectives.