A Cultural History of Leisure in the Modern Age

In the Modern Age (1920-present) leisure became inseparable from modern life. Rising incomes, less time at work, and more forms of available recreations fostered an intensive cultivation of leisure experiences for all classes of people. Between the wars the rise of cinemas, dance halls, and sportunited massive crowds in novel sensory and emotional experiences, while radio and later television completely changed participation in pleasure and conviviality. As leisure became part and parcel of everyday life, it also became linked to self-identification and identity-making. Modern leisure culture, increasingly dominated by American models, promoted the rise of new subcultures and individual expression, but also continued to be bound up in social and cultural conflict. What made leisure such a contested issue? What makes leisure – and the cultural history of leisure – so important after all? A Cultural History of Leisure in the Modern Age, with a specific focus on the United States and the Western world, presents an overview of key themes and trends in this period, with essays on: Ideas of leisure; The performing arts and their audiences; The cerebral arts and their publics; Sports and games; Holydays, holidays and tourism; The world of conviviality; The world of goods; The world of nature; Representations of leisure.