The Labour of Leisure: The Culture of Free Time »

In his compelling new book, Chris Rojek turns this shibboleth on its head to demonstrate how leisure has become a form of labor. Ranging widely from an analysis of the inflated aspirations of the leisure society thesis to the culture of deception that permeates leisure choice, the author shows how leisure is inextricably linked to emotional labor and intelligence. It is now a school for life. In challenging the orthodox understandings of freedom and free time, The Labour of Leisure sets out an indispensable new approach to the meaning of leisure.

List of Figures viii

1 Positioning Leisure 1

2 The Leisure Society Thesis and Its Consequences 21

3 Roadblocks to Free Time 53

4 Visionaries and Pragmatists 84

5 What Is Wrong with Leisure Studies? 110

6 Multiple Equilibria: A Balanced Approach 118

7 The State 133

8 Corporations 160

9 It's Still Leisure, Stupid 179

Notes 190

References 194

Author Index 204

Subject Index 207