Dictionary of Concepts in Recreation and Leisure Studies

The obvious audience for this book is professionals, scholars, and students in the recreation field. However, many of these entries relate to other fields of interest. . . . [T]his work should find a place in academic libraries supporting curricula in recreation and related leisure studies. Reference Books Bulletin

The vocabulary and major concepts of the new field of recreation and leisure studies are just developing and this dictionary is the first major attempt to describe and systematize those concepts. Although university departments devoted to the study of recreation and leisure have been in existence for over half a century, there has never been a comprehensive dictionary written for the field. The concepts included in the dictionary may be grouped into four general categories. The first of these include elemental concepts--those ideas that form the intellectual bedrock of the field. Then there are theoretical concepts- scholarly models or interpretations of the patterns and processes seen in recreation and leisure. Research and methodological concepts make up the third category. while the fourth include professional concepts representing some of the basic ideas inherent in the service side of the field.

Each definition is organized chronologically, emphasizing the evolution of the term and its interpretation or application. Definitions also point to links between concepts listed in the dictionary. Numerous references and suggestions for further reading are included for readers wishing to pursue a topic in more detail. Faculty and graduate students in recreation and leisure studies will welcome this first comprehensive dictionary of the field, as will the libraries of universities and colleges with a recreation and leisure studies department. The historical material and the critical review of conflicting definitions is a special feature and one that makes this book not only useful as a dictionary, but also as a reference work on state of the art ideas and concepts in the field.

STEPHEN L.J. SMITH is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo, Canada. He is the author of Recreation Geography, Tourism Analysis, and has written numerous articles and technical reports for journals such as Leisure Sciences, Journal of Leisure Research, and Annals of Tourism Research.