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The importance of leisure in our lives
The meaning and importance of leisure
The meaning and importance of leisure
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The problem of modern leisure has, throughout the years, been a well-discussed topic among many sociologists. Sociability, in this case, is one of the most universal forms of leisure that will be discussed in this essay. The theoretical framework for this discussion is provided by the sociological insights of Georg Simmel (1858-1918) as he argues that the “tumult of the metropolis” (cited in Frisby 1989, p80) creates inner barriers between people and suggests that “sociability” can surpass this problem. According to Frisby (1989), Simmel states that the city life has transformed the struggle with nature for livelihood into a struggle with other human beings for gain. This is further discussed as Frisby (1989) and Giulianotti (2005) describes how sociability can transcend this problem according to Simmel’s sociability theory. Let’s begin by defining what sociability is. According to Simmel, sociability is ‘the pure form, the free-playing interacting interdependence of individuals’ that is ‘freed from substance’ (Simmel as cited in Frisby 1989, p.87). It is therefore oriented complet...
Marks, L. (2006). The Loss of Leisure in a Culture of Overwork. Spirit of Change Magazine.
it all depends on what you mean by social. To me, it is talking about how strange the world is. I don't think it's social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk.” She then goes into detail on how schools have you wrapped up on television and prefer to give the answers rather than to ask questions.
They acted “sophisticated”, nothing was real for them (Doc. C), For instance, Cherry Valance said she sometimes says things she doesn’t mean, she raves about it to be “saying something”. They acted fake, “behind a wall of aloofness”. Ordinarily, humans interact by the reason of them having something in common like something they like, that happened in their life, but Socs might be outsiders because they had “more than they wanted” (Doc. C), acted arrogantly (Doc. B, when they were laughing at Ponyboy because one of them called him a hood), but because of these attributes they can’t fit in, they can’t socialize, have nothing in common with anybody so they start making up junk. They are “always going and going and going, and never asking
In my opinion, to be social is a good thing for every human. However, sometimes society becomes more dangerous for us when it tries to kill our own morality. The police officer was influenced by other people to kill the elephant and it made him feel guilty. However, David Sedaris forged ahead by himself and finally, he understood the French language and he felt proud of himself. Both characters were under pressure in their situations, but at the end the police officer was unhappy and David Sedaris was happy. Therefore, it is very important what we like to do, not what others demand. Everybody should respect their own personal
Throughout history, Georg Simmel and W.E.B. Du Bois have had a substantial influence on imperative theories and concepts developed in the area of social sciences. Two of the most significant and distinguished concepts fostered by both of these theorists are the concepts of “double consciousness” and “the stranger”. In this essay, I will be analyzing each of these works to draw upon differences and similarities concerning the two. The resemblances I will be expanding on are the usage of the paradoxical figure, which both theorists discuss in their theories, and the coexisting sensation of division from conventional society. The contrast between the two theories in which I will be exploring is the perception that conventional society holds on these paradoxical figures. In Simmel works of the stranger, is seen as a beneficial addition to our society. But on the other hand, in Du Bois work of the seventh son is viewed more as a liability on society.
The academic essay, “The Social Foundations of Human Experience”, by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann written in 1966 is an interesting take on the socialization of human beings. It provides a myriad of information and ideas promoting readers to think about how socialization, as well as social structures effect both society and individual beings. The authors argue that human beings experience life based on the socialization process and their innate abilities to interact with each other. Society operates in a distinct way, based on human activity and human interaction. Through examining our course content and reading the essay I have found that the Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann
Rojek, C. (2000). Leisure and the rich today: Veblen’s thesis after a century. Leisure Studies, 19(1), 1–15.
First I would like to look at Georg Simmel, who puts emphasis of the importance of interaction between people. As he mentions in
As a child, many individuals have free time where they can participate in leisurely activities often. Known as the preparation phase, leisure at this point is usually where a child forms relationships and set goals they wish to achieve in the future. This differs drastically from the establishment phase, where an individual is usually too busy to participate in leisure as much. At this phase, leisure is viewed as purposive, such as taking their child to a museum. The focus is generally not focused on just the individual themselves but rather on acting upon their previous goals to successfully reach them. The final phase is known as the reintegration phase where an individual reflects on the course their life has taken due to the preparation and establishing they have done. At each stage, there are constraints and facilitators that affect what an individual may do as leisure. However, there are other cultural and social factors that affect this as well. Ever since ancient times, an individual’s economic status is a factor that has affected their participation in certain leisure activities that they can afford or not. Today, this still occurs as some people can afford to do activities for leisure while others can not. There are other constraints that an individual can face as well based on where they live, their religion and what race they are. It is unfortunate that not all
Theorists working in the fields of sociology focus on society as a whole. Georg Simmel differs from classic theorists such as Marx, Weber and Durkheim, stressing the importance of the individual as a separate society and the way they deal with the development of modern society. ‘The Stranger,’ as defined by Simmel is “an element of the group itself...whose membership within the group involves both being outside it and confronting it.” (Simmel, 1908, p.144). This essay will explore Georg Simmel’s writing on ‘Individuality and Social Forms (1908)’ by focusing on one of his social types, the notion of ‘The Stranger.’ Furthermore, it will attempt to identify the theoretical points of ‘the stranger,’ relating it to the concept of fashion and individuality
Russell, A., Hart, C. H., Robinson, C. C., & Olsen, S. F. (2003). Children's sociable and
Written in 1899, by Thorstein Veblen, “The Theory of the Leisure Class”, analyzes and critiques consumerism in the United States. Veblen explores the lifestyle and ways of thinking of the exploiter versus the exploited; in a point of view from those who are born into power and those who serve people in power. It is in this book where Veblen created the phrase “conspicuous consumption”, where it means buying goods in order to display a higher social class than others (Heath, 2001). He traces almost all practices and tastes of the leisure class directly to the pecuniary interest. I chose this book because I wanted to learn about how certain groups in society try to distinguish themselves from other groups and how it came to be for such differential.
In the “Metropolis and the Mental Life”, Georg Simmel aims to explicate the confines and conventions of modern life. Simmel accomplishes this as he compares modern life in a metropolis with that of the countryside, noting the behaviours and characteristics of people in response to external factors. Simmel explains this by explicitly detailing how social structures affect certain personal connections. Several prominent themes of urban living are investigated and considered by Simmel in his article, the main points, harshness of the metropolis, modernity and subjective and objective cultures, are discussed in this essay.
Social psychology is an in-depth study of socialization. Gordon Allport (1985) defined it a discipline that utilizes scientific methods to understand as well as explain how thoughts, feelings and behaviors of human beings are influenced by the actual, implied or imagined presence of other people (Smith & Mackie, 2000). Cantril (1934) regards it as being the scientific learning o...
Social interactions are the manner in which we socialize and react to other people. Social interaction has been around humanity since the beginning. It is so important that without it, settlements and groups wouldn’t have formed the way we know it today. It is the building block of society, people get together and design rules, institution and select officials to guide their way of living. It means interaction is social relationship among the individuals. It is a sort of action and reaction position among the people. It involves the acts that people do to others and the return the expect. Social interaction consists of many concepts which are: Exchange, competition, cooperation, conflict and coercion.