Leisure in Middletown: cultural change and social capital in an inter-war American community

IF 1.7 Q3 HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM

World Leisure Journal Pub Date : 2022-03-08 DOI:10.1080/16078055.2022.2043425

R. Snape

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Abstract

ABSTRACT In both America and Great Britain, the social survey became an important tool for the documentation of leisure in the late nineteenth century. To social reformers it revealed inequalities to be addressed; to policy makers it was essential to planning and civic renewal. The Middletown survey was a social study of the city of Muncie, Indiana in 1924. As one of the earliest social surveys to be conducted by social anthropology, it remains a classic text of social science. Social anthropology dealt directly with the everyday life of the organic community and the cultural values and practices of people. It regarded leisure not as superfluous but as a vital field of both private and social life. Undertaken in the new modernity of the inter-war period, the Middletown survey presents a contemporaneous interpretation of the impact of the new technologies of the cinema, radio and automobile on established leisure patterns and of the changing nature and social functions of leisure-based clubs and associations. Anticipating recent interest in leisure and social capital, it reveals historical awareness of the importance of associational leisure activity to community cohesion and offers insights to a nascent sociology of leisure not yet widely recognized in leisure studies.

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米德尔顿的休闲:二战期间美国社区的文化变迁与社会资本

19世纪后期，美国和英国的社会调查都成为记录休闲活动的重要工具。对社会改革者来说，它揭示了需要解决的不平等问题;对政策制定者来说，这对规划和城市复兴至关重要。米德尔敦调查是1924年对印第安纳州曼西市的一项社会研究。它是社会人类学最早进行的社会调查之一，至今仍是社会科学的经典文本。社会人类学直接研究有机群体的日常生活以及人们的文化价值和实践。它认为闲暇不是多余的，而是私人生活和社会生活的一个重要领域。在两次世界大战之间的新现代性时期，米德尔顿调查对电影、广播和汽车等新技术对既定休闲模式的影响以及休闲俱乐部和协会不断变化的性质和社会功能进行了当代解释。预测最近对休闲和社会资本的兴趣，它揭示了社团休闲活动对社区凝聚力重要性的历史意识，并为尚未在休闲研究中得到广泛认可的新兴休闲社会学提供了见解。

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来源期刊

World Leisure Journal HOSPITALITY, LEISURE, SPORT & TOURISM-

CiteScore

3.10

自引率

6.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： As the official journal of the World Leisure Organisation, the purpose of the World Leisure Journal is to stimulate and communicate research, theory, and critical thought in all areas that address leisure, including play, recreation, the arts and culture, sport, festivals, events and celebrations, health and fitness, and travel and tourism. Empirical and theoretical manuscripts, as well as position papers, review articles, and critical essays are published in the World Leisure Journal . The World Leisure Journal is international in scope, and encourages submissions from authors from all areas of the world. Comparative cross-national and cross-cultural research reports are especially welcome. For empirical papers, all types of research methods are appropriate and the subject matter in papers may be addressed from perspectives derived from the social, behavioural, and biological sciences, education, and the humanities. Both pure and applied research reports are appropriate for publication in the World Leisure Journal . In addition to original research reports and review essays, book reviews, research notes, comments, and methodological contributions are appropriate for publication in the World Leisure Journal .