Surfing Life Surface, Substructure and the Commodification of the Sublime [Hardcover]

Surfing Life is a study of surfing and social change that also provides insights into other experience-based contemporary subcultures and the nature of the self and social formations in contemporary society. Making use of extensive empirical material to support innovative theoretical approaches to social change, this book offers an analysis of the relationship between embodied experience, culture and the economy. With its ground breaking theoretical contributions, and its foundation in an ethnographic study of surfing culture in locations across Australia, this volume will appeal not only to those interested in the social and cultural phenomenon of surfing, but also to anyone interested in the sociology of sport and leisure, the sociology of culture and consumption, risk-taking, subcultures and theories of contemporary social change.Contents: This study of surfing; Pleasure and discipline: a surfing history; Resistance and incorporation: contemporary surfing life; Risk, self and social configurations; Fear, desire and a postmodern sublime; Commodification, reflexivity and trust: the surfing culture industry; Aestheticization and sportization: towards synthesis; Conclusions; Appendices; References; Index.Mark Stranger has taught Sociology at the University of Tasmania, Australia.