This book brings together a collection of critical essays that challenge the existing dogma of leisure as an unmitigated social good, in order to examine the commodification and marketisation of leisure across a number of key sites. Leisure and consumer culture have become symbolic of the individual freedoms of liberal society, ostensibly presenting individuals with the opportunity to display individual creativity, cultural competence and taste. This book problematizes these assertions, and considers the range of harms that emerge in a consumer society predicated upon intense individualism and symbolic competition. Approaching the field of commodified leisure through the lens of social harm, this collection of essays pushes far beyond criminology’s traditional interest in ‘deviant’ forms of leisure, to consider the normalized social, interpersonal and environmental harms that emerge at the intersection of leisure and consumer capitalism. Capturing the current vitality and interdisciplinary scope of recent work which is underpinned by the deviant leisure perspective, this collection uses case studies, original research and other forms of empirical enquiry to scrutinise activities that range from alcohol consumption and gambling, to charity tourism; CrossFit training; and cosmetic pharmaceuticals. Drawn from researchers across the UK, US, Europe and Australia, Deviant Leisure: Criminological Perspectives on Leisure and Harm represents the first systematic attempt at a criminological consideration of the global harms of the leisure industry; firmly establishing leisure as a subject of serious criminological importance.

This book examines the contradictions surrounding popular lifestyle sports such as parkour and freerunning and their exclusion from our hyper-regulated city centres. The author combines ethnographic data and complex theory to move beyond tropes of resistance and acknowledge and explain the paradox of parkour against a backdrop of late-capitalism.

This book examines the contradictions surrounding popular lifestyle sports such as parkour and freerunning and their exclusion from our hyper-regulated city centres. The author combines ethnographic data and complex theory to move beyond tropes of resistance and acknowledge and explain the paradox of parkour against a backdrop of late-capitalism.

In the increasingly popular sport of parkour, athletes run, jump, climb, flip, and vault through city streetscapes, resembling urban gymnasts to passersby and awestruck spectators. In Parkour and the City, cultural sociologist Jeffrey L. Kidder examines the ways in which this sport involves a creative appropriation of urban spaces as well as a method of everyday risk-taking by a youth culture that valorizes individuals who successfully manage danger. Parkour’s modern development has been tied closely to the growth of the internet. The sport is inevitably a YouTube phenomenon, making it exemplary of new forms of globalized communication. Parkour’s dangerous stunts resonate, too, Kidder contends, with a neoliberal ideology that is ambivalent about risk. Moreover, as a male-dominated sport, parkour, with its glorification of strength and daring, reflects contemporary Western notions of masculinity. At the same time, Kidder writes, most athletes (known as “traceurs” or “freerunners”) reject a “daredevil” label, preferring a deliberate, reasoned hedging of bets with their own safety—rather than a “pushing the edge” ethos normally associated with extreme sports.

Shades of Deviance is a turbo-driven guide to crime and deviance. It offers politically engaged, thought-provoking and accessibly written accounts of a wide range of socially and legally prohibited acts. This updated and revised edition is designed to be essential reading for general readers, undergraduate students in the fields of criminology and sociology, and those preparing to embark on degree courses in these fields. Written by field-leading experts from across the globe and designed for those who want a clear and exciting introduction to the complex areas of crime and deviance, this book provides short overviews of a wide range of social problems, harms and criminal acts, offering a series of cutting-edge and critical treatments of issues such as war and terrorism, incels and the alt-right, ecocide, trolling, hate crime and chemsex. A guide is also given to further readings and films to develop the reader’s understanding of these issues. This new edition has been fully revised and extended, with new entries on robot sex, protest, child soldiers, online abuse, cybercrime, drug trafficking, gangs and weapon use. Shades of Deviance encourages readers to critically reconsider their ideas about what is right and wrong, about what is socially harmful and which problems we should focus our attention on. It offers careful analysis and reasoned explanation of complex issues in a world in which sensationalist headlines, anxiety and fear about crime permeate our lives. Read it to be prepared for some of the key debates shaping the world to come.

This handbook explores the concept of 'harm' in criminological scholarship and lays the foundation for a future zemiological agenda. 'Social harm' as a theoretical construct has become established as an alternative, broader lens through which to understand the causation and alleviation of widespread harm in society, thus moving beyond criminology and state definitions of crime and extending the range of criminological research. Applying zemiological concepts, this book comprehensively explores topics including violence, moral indifference, workplace injury, corporate and state harms, animal rights, migration, gender, poverty, security and victimisation. This definitive work covers theory, research, scholarship and future visions across four sections, and includes contributions from areas such as criminology, sociology, socio-legal and cultural studies, social policy and international relations. It offers readers up-to-date, original theoretical perspectives and an analysis of a broad range of issues from a 'social harm' perspective.

"Written by one of the best Criminological Ethnographers in the business, this text will serve as an invaluable and insightful resource for both novice and seasoned ethnographers of criminological issues." - Anthony Ellis, University of Salford In the first textbook to cover ethnography specific to criminology, James Treadwell guides readers through the ethnographic research process in full, starting with a background to criminological ethnography, through planning and doing an ethnographic project, and finally, the writing up and reporting stage. The book provides guidance for navigating key issues in ethnography, including access and researcher safety, and supports readers when carrying out their project with helpful exercises, questions and checklists. It also includes insightful case studies comprised of classic works and the author′s own ethnographic projects, along with a range of extra learning features including key terms, a glossary, and further reading suggestions. A valuable resource for anyone embarking on ethnographic research in criminology for the first time.