CFP: Leisure and the Politics of the Environment

Leisure Studies – Leisure and the Politics of the Environment – Special Issue Call for Papers.

Guest editors: Belinda Wheaton (Brighton) and Louise Mansfield (Canterbury Christ Church).

The aim of this special issue is to encourage critical discussions about the relationships between leisure and the politics of the environment. The late twentieth century resurgence in the importance of ecological values in social and political thought, the formalisation of green politics, the establishment and legitimation of global environmental social movements, and commitments by increasing numbers of nations to addressing global environmental problems (Dobson, 2007; Hayward, 1994; Lipietz, 1995; Lowe and Flynn, 1989) illustrates the importance of raising questions about leisure and the politics of the environment. People come into close contact with natural habitats through their leisure practices (Spink, 1994). These human/non-human relationships are not neutral but reflect complex struggles over particular political and social ideologies in different spaces / places (McNaughten & Urry, 1998; Crouch, 1999)

There is a growing awareness and intensifying conscience about the potential environmental threat posed by the continued and unmanaged economic growth and development of leisure and sport around the world. A modest amount of work has addressed the relationships between humans and their natural environments in sport and fitness cultures (e.g. Franklin, 1998; Humberstone, 1998; Mansfield, 2009). Another focus has been on whether participation in outdoor sport & leisure encourages greater environmental awareness that leads to forms of political engagement (e.g. Atkinson, 2009; Heywood, & Montgomery 2008; Parker, 1999; Wheaton 2007, 2008 :). Questions about the environmental impact of sport and tourism activities have also come to the fore in policy development and decision-making processes in the respective fields (see for example, Butcher, 2003; Collins and Flynn, 2007; Stubbs, 2008). Despite such work, stemming from a range (inter)disciplinary contexts including environmen!
tal studies, geography, social anthropology, sociology, politics and political ecology, tourism, and youth studies, there is an absence of overt discussions of the increasing relevance and complexities of environmental politics in leisure studies.

In this special issue of Leisure Studies we will include articles from a variety of disciplinary bases and we propose to include work that engages in political examinations of the environment connected to a diversity of leisure behaviour. We will consult with (and use as reviewers) colleagues more grounded in environmental studies to strengthen the editorial expertise in this special issue. The intention is to select 6-8 papers that are theoretically and methodologically diverse and include a brief introduction by the two guest editors, however, shorter research notes or audio-visual reviews are also invited.

The topics covered in this special issue could include the following although the list is not exhaustive:
• Leisure and sustainability.
• Ecological awareness in leisure/tourism behaviour.
• Emotional, ethical and political relationships between humans, animals and the leisure environment.
• Leisure/tourism/sport policy, and environmental impacts and predictions.
• Ethical consumption, corporate responsibility and green leisure lifestyles.
• Research methods in examining leisure and the politics of the environmental.
• Interdisciplinary theoretical/methodological syntheses or papers bringing new theoretical/ methodological developments and innovations into Leisure Studies.

Key deadlines:
Full Papers (8000 words maximum) and/or Research Notes (3000 words maximum) due 1st December 2010 by Manuscript Central. Publication Anticipated: Late 2011 (vol.30 / 4). Interested parties can contact the editors (B.Wheaton@bton.ac.uk and Louise.Mansfield@canterbury.ac.uk) or one of the Managing Editors (jdhorne@uclan.ac.uk, R.Watson@leedsmet.ac.uk, or sfleming@uwic.ac.uk) directly by email to discuss potential submissions.

Submissions
Please consult the inside covers of the Leisure Studies journal for guidance on format and submission via Manuscript Central. Include note that papers are for consideration in the special issue ‘Leisure and the Politics of the Environment’

Belinda Wheaton and Louise Mansfield (January 2010).