Details

<p>Chapter 1: Introduction to Positive Sociology of Leisure,&nbsp;<i>Shintaro Kono , Anju Beniwal, Priyanka Baweja and Karl Spracklen.-&nbsp;</i>Chapter 2: Positive Sociology: An Overview,&nbsp;Robert A. Stebbins.- Section 1: Meanings of Leisure.- Chapter 3:&nbsp;<i>Happiness and Perseverance:&nbsp;</i>The Interplay of Emotional Energies in Gray Dancing; Satu Heikkinen and Eva Alfredsson-Olsson.- Chapter 4. "One Can Make a Swing with a Rope and a Piece of Wood”: The Positive Leisure Experience of Children Living in the Informal Settlements of Soacha, Colombia;&nbsp;Andrea Diaz and Idurre Lazcano.- Chapter 5.&nbsp;Anything Goes for Being Happy? A Qualitative Analysis of Discourses on Leisure in Finland;&nbsp;Riie Heikkilä.- Chapter 6.&nbsp;An Evolving Leisure Practice: Home Climbing Walls as a Case;&nbsp;KoFan Lee, Daniel Peretti and Piin Shiuan Wu.- Section 2: Ageing.- Chapter 7.&nbsp;The Complexity of Sport-as-Leisure in Later Life; Julie Son and Rylee Dionigi.- Chapter 8.&nbsp;Leisure and Late Adulthood: Examining the Benefits of Participation during Retirement;&nbsp;Thomas Sweeney and Jennifer Zorotovich.- Chapter 9.&nbsp;Life-Course Transitions and Leisure in Later Life: Retirement between Continued Productivity and Late Freedom;&nbsp;Anna Wanka.- Section 3: Sex, Sexuality, and Family.- Chapter 10.&nbsp;Same-sex Pairings on&nbsp;<i>Strictly Come Dancing</i>: Queer Identity and Leisure Participation in Ballroom Dancing;&nbsp;Vicki Harman and Yen Nee Wong.- Chapter 11.&nbsp;The Intersection of Leisure and Racial Socialization to Promote Positive Practices;&nbsp;Augustus W. Hallmon and Desirée Y. McMillion.- Chapter 12.&nbsp;Sex as Leisure for the Japanese Women;&nbsp;Maki Hirayama.- Section 4: Community, Youth, and Education.- Chapter 13.&nbsp;Positive Youth Development and Communities: Practices that Work and the Potential for Community Development;&nbsp;Evan Webb.- Chapter 14.&nbsp;Evolving Societal Contributions of Leisure Education;&nbsp;Julie Son, Elizabeth Weybright, Megan Janke and Laura Payne.- Chapter 15.&nbsp;Digital Gaming: A New Way of Programming Happiness and Creativity in Youth; Anju Beniwal.- Chapter 16.&nbsp;Reflecting on Perceptions of Local Communities and Visitors: Sustainable Heritage Leisure and Tourism;&nbsp;Charles Spring and Lisa Wakefield.- Section 5: Arts and Creativity.- Chapter 17.&nbsp;Transformative Leisure and Play: Bringing Forth Our Reason for Being;&nbsp;Susan Ross, Yoshitaka Iwasaki, Joshua Bauer, & Paul Heintzman.- Chapter 18.&nbsp;Adolescent, Identity and Community Art;&nbsp;Vaishali Sharma.- Chapter 19.&nbsp;Doodling:&nbsp; A Positive Creative Leisure Practice; Priyanka Baweja.- Chapter 20.&nbsp;Conclusion to Positive Sociology of Leisure;&nbsp;Shintaro Kono, Anju Beniwal, Priyanka Baweja and Karl Spracklen.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><i></i></p>

<p>Shintaro Kono is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, at the University of Alberta, Canada.</p>

<p>Anju Beniwal is&nbsp;Assistant Professor of Sociology at Govt. Meera Girls College, Udaipur, India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Priyanka Baweja is a PhD candidate in Anthropology at&nbsp;Rajasthan University, India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Karl Spracklen is Professor of Leisure Studies at Leeds Beckett University, UK.</p><br>

<p>This edited collection explores Positive Sociology of Leisure (PSL) as a subfield relating to leisure studies, sociology of leisure, and sociology of happiness.</p><p></p><p>Defined as an area of research that examines social aspects of leisure life with a focus on the optimal functioning of relationship, group, community, organization, and other social units, PSL differs from more critical forms of sociology in that its starting point is social positives.</p><p>The contributions draw on a range of diverse disciplinary backgrounds to consider various meanings of leisure across themes such as: ageing; sex, sexuality and family; community, youth, and education; and arts and creativity.</p><p><i>Positive Sociology of Leisure</i>&nbsp;will be a key reference within the field of sociology of leisure, as well as an important introductory book for those interested in leisure studies.</p><div><br></div>

Combines a strong focus on “positive” sociology of leisure, with critical leisure studies literature Reflects the recent trend to integrate leisure studies and studies of well-being and positive psychology Takes a global view of the topic, and contains research from five continents

<p>“Using the framework developed by Robert Stebbins, Positive Sociology complements Martin Seligman’s Positive Psychology extremely well. Congratulations to the editors for the much-anticipated publication on affirmative issues in leisure. The aspects of social life with a focus on optimal functioning of relationship, group, community, organization, and other social units are an excellent beginning for the Positive Sociology of Leisure.” — Francis Lobo, Professor at Edith Cowan University, Australia </p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>“This book is a very welcome addition to the sociology of leisure for highlighting the variety in how people in different countries use their leisure, and how leisure experiences enrich their lives.” — Ken Roberts, Professor at the University of Liverpool, UK<p></p>