Undergraduate

200 / 300- level courses

Not offered in 2010

FHSS 206 – Cultures of Leisure: Heritage, Travel and Play
FHSS 301 – Cultures of Leisure: Heritage, Travel and Play

These courses examine the linkages between leisure and culture using a range of perspectives including philosophy, sociology, leisure and cultural studies.  From philosophical notions of leisure/play as the basis of culture, to the place of post-industrial leisure in consumer society and the search for authenticity and meaning, themes covered in the course include: art, creativity and play; museums, community and civil leisure; natural and cultural heritage as sites of leisure; travel as cultural experience and the rise of the post-tourist; work, consumption and anti-leisure; sport, culture and identity. 

The leisure industry – encompassing cultural and natural heritage sites, travel, sport, entertainment and leisure education – is the fastest growing industry in the world, and impacts on people, places and cultures.  Museums, galleries and heritage sites are increasingly positioned within the leisure and tourism industry and compete with the growing range of choices that people have in their free time. It is therefore important that students planning to work in the museum and wider cultural sector understand the broad social and cultural context within which people make decisions about how they will spend their leisure.   Although we often take this area of our lives for granted, leisure activities are increasingly important in terms of determining the quality of people’s lives and whether we use our free time in beneficial, destructive or passive ways is likely to be the defining feature of future societies.  While consumerism tempts us to spend money on playful, transitory experiences, many people are using their leisure time to search for the sense of meaning and authenticity they find lacking in other parts of their lives. Leisure studies offers a critical, theoretical perspective for exploring these issues with direct relevance to important social and cultural issues in contemporary society.  It’s an exciting and rapidly evolving area of study with relevance to many other disciplinary areas. 

The co-taught courses FHSS 206 & 301 offer students an opportunity to explore these issues using a range of theoretical perspectives and practical examples, with a particular focus on leisure as related cultural practices encompassing heritage, travel and play. These courses are not part of a major, but are designed to complement study in other disciplinary areas, such as Tourism, Education, Religious Studies, Classics, Art History, Sociology, History, Anthropology, Geography, Environmental Studies, Maori and Pacific Studies.  They also provide a bridge to post-graduate qualifications in museum and heritage studies. 
The courses are 100% internally assessed on the basis of one essay, a tutorial presentation, a case study and tutorial work. The assignments are designed to give students a wide range of choice, so they can pursue leisure-related topics that are of interest to them and draw on their other areas of study.

Recommendations from past students:

“I have received a fair amount of grief from fellow students when I tell them I am taking a leisure studies class, because they immediately assume the class is a joke. However, I was surprised at how many different fields of academic study we touched on during the course of the class. … The fact that we covered such a wide range of topics, all the while relating them to leisure and the world that we live in, is what so pleasantly surprised me about the course, and [I] would go as far as to say I haven’t ever been able to understand and relate to a class on so many different levels and with such diverse material. … I also really enjoyed the freedom we had to choose our topics for our essays and presentation, because that really allows you get into the work and do something that you personally are interested in … As far as I am concerned, this was the most fun, interesting, engaging, stimulating, relatable, and overall the best class that I have ever taken.“
US exchange student

“This paper is an interesting mix of theories and approaches to past, present and future worlds … the opportunity to analytically explore leisure, a part of life that does not seem so immediately up for inspection, has serendipitously also improved my ability to analyse and critique in my current papers.”
Classics student

I took this paper purely as interest and it has been one of the more interesting and stimulating courses I have taken so far.
BA student (Education/psychology)

 “Easily my most enjoyable paper I have studied.”
BA student (English literature)

“It was a thoroughly enjoyable course and I have recommended it to many. It was good to take a different perspective on our daily lives.”
Tourism Management student

“[I liked] how well the theory and examples fitted in with my previous studies.”
Anthropology student

“Coming into this class not knowing what to expect, I was blown away.”
Anonymous student, FHSS 301, 2008