Outdoor Adventure and Social Theory

Adventure and outdoor sports - from rock climbing to freestyle kayaking – are a modern social phenomenon that can tell us much about the relationship between sport, culture and contemporary society. In this engaging new introductory text, adventure sports are used to illustrate key concepts in social theory and to demonstrate why an understanding of social theory is essential for any student taking a course in sport, adventure, or outdoor education.

Each chapter in the book introduces a key ‘classical’ or modern social theorist, including Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Elias, or a universal topic or issue in social theory, such as sustainability, commodification or identity. Within each of those chapters the theorist or topic is brought to life through case studies of adventurous activities and lived experiences, helping the reader to connect their own sporting and adventurous interests with the frameworks we use to understand wider culture and society. Concise and full of cutting-edge contemporary examples, Outdoor Adventure and Social Theory is the perfect companion for any module on the sociology of sport, adventure or outdoor recreation.

Elizabeth C.J. Pike is Head of Sport Development and Management, Reader in the Sociology of Sport and Exercise and Chair of the Anita White Foundation at the University of Chichester, UK. She co-authored Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies and is the current President of the International Sociology of Sport Association.

Simon Beames is the programme director of the MSc in Outdoor Education at the University of Edinburgh, UK. He is co-author of Learning outside the Classroom and editor of Understanding Educational Expeditions.